The programme’s objective is to ground and flight test a direct combustion engine fuelled by hydrogen, in preparation for entry-into-service of a zero-emission aircraft by 2035.
The demonstration will use an A380 flying testbed equipped with liquid hydrogen tanks prepared at Airbus facilities in France and Germany.
Airbus will also define the hydrogen propulsion system requirements, oversee flight testing, and provide the A380 platform to test the hydrogen combustion engine in cruise phase.
Hydrogen planes have so far proven difficult to bring to market due to the complexities of the engine needed as well as storing such volatile fuel on an aircraft within a tanker that is not too heavy to prevent the plane from becoming airborne.
Using hydrogen for aviation is also only climate friendly if 'green hydrogen' is used which is created by splitting water by electrolysis in a process powered by renewable energy.
'Blue hydrogen', which is currently...