Airbus unveils its first liquid hydrogen fuel tank prototype
Airbus teams in France and Germany have completed the company's first liquid hydrogen fuel tank prototype as part of an effort to mature technology for planned test flights with a partially hydrogen-powered demonstrator aircraft in 2026.
The European airframer notes that the fuel tank prototype was built in the record time of just over a year, following the establishment of zero emission development centres (ZEDCs) at the company's sites in Nantes in France and Bremen, Germany, in 2021. Airbus subsequently established a ZEDC in Madrid, to develop composite-based liquid hydrogen fuel tanks, and involved an existing composite centre in Stade, near Hamburg, in Germany, in the effort.
At Nantes, a facility which Airbus describes as a "reference shop" for aluminium structures, the team manufactured the storage tank capable of keeping hydrogen at -253°C. The Bremen ZEDC produced what Airbus terms a “coldbox” – ancillary systems to fill and ventilate the tank and distribute the hydrogen, via gasification. Experience with hydrogen at Bremen, through the site's involvement in space activities including the Ariane rocket, was a reason to locate the coldbox development there, Airbus notes.
The fuel tank was designed at the airframer's Toulouse headquarters, while the Nantes and Bremen sites concentrated on the manufacturing. Airbus highlights its adoption of a "co-development approach" whereby prototype-building plays a central role in the design process.
"Teams get straight into manufacturing a prototype, which they test and learn from before developing an improved prototype, rather than spending a lot of time working on theoretical plans," the airframer says.
"It's a real testament to the teamwork across our sites to see this first tank being manufactured so quickly. The agile methodology has delivered a great prototype and will help drive improvements in future iterations," states Chris Redfern, head of manufacturing ZEROe aircraft and head of industrial architects propulsion systems.
The first prototype fuel-tank is being tested with nitrogen, rather than hydrogen. But work is underway to build a second prototype that will be filled with hydrogen. Airbus says it has "plenty of feedback" from the initial specimen that will feed into the second, which will take a year to build.
"We're looking in particular at maximising space, improving performance and simplifying the manufacturing process," the airframer says. It plans to build a total three prototypes for ground-tests, before a flyable systems will be developed.
In February, Airbus and CFM International disclosed a plan to trial a hydrogen-powered demonstrator turbofan in flight tests onboard a modified A380 between 2026 and 2028. The project is part of Airbus's plan to develop a zero-emission aircraft for service entry in 2035.