Posted on 01/22/2024 6:15:41 AM PST by Red Badger
The ZEROe demonstrator is also the first-ever A380, also known as MSN001, produced.
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SUMMARY
Airbus plans to install the hydrogen fuel cell system on its A380 test-bed for in-flight testing in 2026.
The ZEROe project aims to produce a hydrogen-powered commercial plane by 2035 using innovative technologies and concepts.
The demonstrator will be the first A380 to have taken the sky, with production number MSN001.
After the recent success in testing the hydrogen fuel cell system, the 'iron pad,' Airbus is set to install the fuel cell propulsion system on its ZEROe test bed, an Airbus 380 registered F-WWOW, for in-flight testing from 2026.
In June 2023, the team at Airbus successfully tested the hydrogen fuel cell system, which reached 1.2 megawatts, its full power level. Later that year, the propulsion system prototype, which includes the hydrogen fuel cell system and the electric motors, was powered on at 1.2 megawatts at the E-Aircracft House in Munich.
The 1.2 megawatts that the prototype reached during testing is also the power Airbus aims to test on the A380 in-flight demonstrator, according to Mathias Andriamisaina, Head of Testing and Demonstration on the ZEROe project. This brings the project closer to in-flight testing, with the next step for the ZEROe team to continue testing and to optimize the size, mass and specifications of the propulsion system for flight conditions.
What is the ZEROe project?
ZEROe gets its name from zero-emission and is Airbus's answer to the growing demand for sustainable aviation technologies. The ultimate aim of ZEROe is to produce a hydrogen-powered commercial plane by 2035 using innovative technologies and concepts.
What exactly will the first ZEROe plane look like? There is no definite answer to the question as Airbus is exploring various concepts and technologies for the aircraft. The four concepts that Airbus proposed back in 2020 will pursue either hydrogen combustion or hydrogen fuel cell technology. The latter will be used on a fully electric aircraft type and will be the one tested on the A380 demonstrator.
Airbus zero emissions aircraft
The designated ZEROe demonstrator is also the very first A380 to be produced by Airbus, with production serial number MSN001. The aircraft was the very first ever superjumbo to take to the sky on April 27th, 2005, marking the start of a truly amazing run by the biggest commercial aircraft known to the world.
The life of MSN001 is just as fascinating as the A380 program itself. MSN001 first took on the role of the prototype, conducting technical testing to achieve the certifications necessary to get the plane ready for commercial operations. This includes tests like water ingestion, extreme hot and cold weather operations, high-speed rejected take-off, and more. The aircraft also went on multiple tours around the world and represented Airbus at various airshows, sometimes wearing special liveries.
After the height of the A380 program, MSN001 was preserved by Airbus while many of the other original prototypes were scrapped. MSN001 became an important instrument for testing the Trent XWB engines for the A350 program, fitting the engine under its wing as the number two engine. It first tested the Trent XWB-84 for the A350-900 variant and was then tasked with testing the Trent XWB-97 for the A350-1000 as well.
While some airlines have already written off the A380 as a thing of the past, Airbus has done quite a few impressive things with its very first A380.
More recently, MSN001 was involved in multiple test flights for the use of sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF. The first test flight, partnered with Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney, used 27 tonnes of unblended SAF provided by Total Energies on the three-hour mission and was followed by several other test flights focused on Performance during take-offs and landings.
Aviation Ping!....................
Battery humpers won’t like that lol
“Oh the humanity!”
M A R K E T I N G
And behind the scenes? Grants and subsidies from government.
Some chick is going to get on with a staticky sweater and — BOOM!
It sounds like they only carry the hydrogen and the oxygen comes from the air. An internal combustion engine does the same thing, but more than oxygen anlways ends up getting involved. I would expect the same, here, unless the fuel-cell is, somehow, more selective.
Of course, this may all be moot, as they probably burn fossil fuels to create the hydrogen in the first place.
Hydrogen fuel cells produce electricity. So how is this supposed to run a jet engine? Or is the author not familiar with the technology?
Science says CO2 is not a poison.
If the fuel cell works, fine. But wouldn’t a high-velocity propeller connected to the shaft of an electric motor work better than burning the hydrogen for jet engine thrust?
As a conversion of the energy in the fuel to forward propulsion, it would be extremely wasteful to consume the hydrogen to create thrust by heating air to high temperatures. Hydrogen does not store nearly so compactly as liquid petroleum fuels.
The article doesn’t get into the specifics of the engine. I am assuming it will be similar to the turbo prop (short distance) and turbo fan (long distance) except that the propeller or fan will be driven by an electric motor.
Very big waste of time and money right now
Airbus’s answer to the growing demand [On the part of about .0001 of the population] for sustainable aviation technologies.
My college thermo class was taught by a genuine NASA scientist. He had the class work through complicated applications of all the Green energy schemes we see today. Even given the most generous assumptions none of them beat just using plane old oil-based energy.
Any time.................
The output of a fuel cell is electricity. There is no combustion that produces a jet of hot gases. It’s basically a hydrogen powered battery.
“ Very big waste of time and money right now”
Why ?
There’s tons of Jet Fuel out there and that plane is a BUST always was
So they're saying there might be a bigger one we don't know about?
Yes. And Liquid hydrogen is hard to contain, and imagine the fireball if the plane crashes for mechanical reasons.
The power density of hydrogen is not good.
Another issue? Range. How far can a plane fly with that kind of fuel supply.
It is probably like electric cars, very short range.
There is no free lunch when it comes to power.
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