Speaker
Description
With the growing public awareness on the consequences of global warming, and increasingly facing competition from other modes of land transportation, aviation has no more choice but to rapidly achieve radical technological breakthroughs in the field of low carbon propulsion.
Several studies show that the largest share of aviation emissions is caused by short- and medium-range aircraft, serving rather short routes (1000-3000 km with a mean at 1500 km and 100-150 passengers). Regional airplanes (20-80 passengers), used for even shorter routes, are mostly equipped with internal combustion powertrains that operate in the range of 1-2 mega-Watts. Alternatives can now be seriously considered for them, based on the technologies of electric motors and hydrogen fuel cells, with extended flight autonomies, thanks to the use of liquid Hydrogen.
As an ardent promoter of Hydrogen Energy, Air Liquide joined in 2018 the HEAVEN European consortium, co-funded by the FCH-JU of the European Community. The aim of this trailblazer project is to demonstrate that an existing 4-seater aircraft (the HY4 from H2FLY), can be safely and efficiently operated with liquid Hydrogen and fuel cells by 2023, that will pave the way to future large aircraft.
After many flights successfully performed since 2016 by using high pressure, gaseous Hydrogen to feed a fuel cell, this aircraft was upgraded by adding a liquid H2 tank in order to increase its autonomy.
Air Liquide advanced Technology (France) has designed, manufactured and qualified the tank, which successfully flew 6 hours in Slovenia in September 2023.
Firstly, this paper presents the design of the tank, which is based on our several decade-long experience in realizing and operating liquid Hydrogen systems, for both ground and space applications. The tank was manufactured in the first half of 2022 and underwent an extensive ground test campaign in liquid Hydrogen, aiming at getting a safe-for-flight clearance in order to fly in 2023. The paper presents the test rig and the cryogenic test results, which encompasses all functions from cool down, filling and flight usage. Then, we discuss the operations we did at Maribor airport (Slovenia) during the flight test campaign. A broader outlook is then discussed about what a Hydrogen-based aviation could look like in the future, with a focus about the necessary Hydrogen infrastructures in airports.
| Submitters Country | France |
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