Airbus sets up several zero-carbon research institutes to design and manufacture hydrogen-powered aircraft

On May 28, Airbus is setting up an agency in the UK focused on the development of hydrogen-powered aircraft, trying to design and manufacture a new generation of aircraft that can achieve zero carbon emissions.

In a statement released this week, Airbus said the Zero Emissions Development Centre (ZEDC) in Filton, Bristol, UK, had begun developing the technology.

One of the agency’s main goals is to conduct research around what Airbus calls “cost-competitive cryogenic fuel systems.” That’s what the company’s previously announced ZEROe, the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft, requires.

Airbus unveiled details of three zero-emission “hybrid hydrogen-powered” concept aircraft under the ZEROe designation back in September 2020. Airbus has said it hopes to develop a “zero-emission commercial aircraft” by 2035.

In addition to ZEDC in the UK, Airbus has similar research facilities in Spain, Germany and France. “All Airbus ZEDC facilities are expected to be fully operational in 2023 and ready for ground testing, with the first fully functional cryogenic hydrogen fuel system to begin flight testing in 2026,” the company said.

The aviation industry has a very large impact on the environment. The World Wildlife Fund describes it as “one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change”. WWF also said that air travel is “the most carbon-emitting activity that an individual is currently engaged in”.

Just this week, environmental groups launched legal action against KLM, saying it had misled the public about the sustainability of flying.

KLM was notified of the lawsuit on the same day as the company’s annual general meeting. A spokesman confirmed the company had received the indictment and said it would study the content of the indictment.

Airbus Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said in an interview earlier this year that “if we don’t decarbonize at the right pace, the aviation industry could face major problems.”

In the interview, Fury laid out some of the areas Airbus is focusing on. These include ensuring planes use less fuel and emit less carbon dioxide.

In addition, the aircraft currently delivered by Airbus are certified to have 50% sustainable aviation fuel in their tanks.

“We need to see the sustainable aviation fuel industry moving forward, growing and growing, serving airlines with half the tanks full of sustainable aviation fuel,” Faury said. “By the end of the 2020s, we will reach 100 %.”

The above is “a very important part of what’s being done,” Fury explained. “The next goal is to bring hydrogen-powered aircraft to market in the medium to long term, because that’s really the ultimate solution,” he said, noting that it would require a lot of engineering, research and capital investment.

The International Energy Agency describes hydrogen as a “multifunctional energy carrier” that has a wide range of applications and can be used in a variety of industries.

Hydrogen can currently be produced in a number of ways. One of these methods is the electrolysis of water, which breaks down hydrogen and oxygen.

If the electricity used in the electrolysis of hydrogen comes from a renewable energy source such as wind or solar, then this hydrogen can be defined as green hydrogen or renewable hydrogen. But the vast majority of current hydrogen production is based on fossil fuels.

Airbus isn’t the only company looking to use hydrogen fuel in aviation. In October, airline ZeroAvia unveiled plans to operate a commercial hydrogen-electric flight between London, England, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and hopes the hydrogen fuel-cell-powered plane will take off in 2024.

At the time ZeroAvia said it was developing a 19-seat aircraft that would “fly exclusively on hydrogen power”. In September 2020, the company completed its maiden flight with a 6-seat hydrogen fuel cell aircraft.