European aerospace company Airbus has launched a project to demonstrate a hydrogen-fuelled engine mounted onto a modified version of its A380 model, the world’s largest passenger plane.

Test flights are scheduled to start in around 2025 with the ultimate aim of commercial use of a zero-emission plane by 2035.

Airbus has signed a partnership agreement with US-based engine maker CFM International —a 50/50 joint company between US multinational GE and engine manufacturer Safran Aircraft Engines—to develop the project.

“By leveraging the expertise of American and European engine manufacturers to make progress on hydrogen combustion technology, this international partnership sends a clear message that our industry is committed to making zero-emission flight a reality,” says Sabine Klauke, chief technical officer for Airbus.

2035 – Airbus target for commercial launch of zero-emission hydrogen-fuelled A380

A direct combustion engine fuelled by liquid hydrogen will be mounted along the rear fuselage of the A380 to allow engine emissions to be monitored separately from those of the engines powering the aircraft. The engine will be assembled in the US.

The plane will be equipped with liquid hydrogen tanks prepared at Airbus facilities in France and Germany.

Liquid hydrogen is a lightweight fuel, which has three times the energy density of kerosene and 60 times the energy density of batteries per kilogram.

Studies by Airbus that evaluated fuels including butane, propane, methane, ammonia and batteries, as well as hybrid-electric solutions, found liquid hydrogen to have the greatest potential for large commercial air travel.

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Author: Stuart Penson