L R AS Published on Sunday 27 September 2020 - n° 333 - Categories:hydrogen, around the PV, various issues around PV
Airbus is working on clean aircraft but warns of its cost and constraints
Airbus estimates that zero-emission commercial aviation will be ready by 2035
Three aircraft models have just been presented. The first, comparable in shape to a current model, could carry 120 to 200 passengers and would use gas turbines running on burning hydrogen. It could be equipped with
an electric motor running on hydrogen, when extra power is needed. Its range would be 3,700 km.
The second model is a turboprop propeller engine. It would carry around 100 people and would also use hydrogen combustion in modified gas turbines to produce energy. It could travel up to 2,000 km.
The third could carry 200 passengers and would have a range of almost 4,000 km, with a relatively wide fuselage to accommodate passengers and hydrogen. Here too, Airbus plans to use a combination of hydrogen combustion and fuel cell reaction to optimise the power supply.
While hydrogen has the same energy level as paraffin and accounts for only a third of the weight, hydrogen occupies four times the volume of conventional fuel, making it difficult to use in long-haul flights. Hydrogen should be cooled to -253° Celsius. (Editor's note: close to absolute zero at -273°C). to make it liquid, increase its density. In any case, part of the fuselage should be used to contain hydrogen rather than passengers.
According to Airbus, "the challenge of decarbonising aviation is such that we have no intention of meeting it alone," and the transition to hydrogen would require billions of euros, counting on the cost of hydrogen falling.
Responding to a request from the European Union, McKinsey, in June 2020, estimated that hydrogen flights would only add around 10% to the cost of plane tickets for short-haul flights, or around 5 to 10 dollars. Medium-haul hydrogen flights would require a 30-40% increase in ticket prices because the planes would carry fewer passengers and use 25% less in-flight energy consumption. Passengers on long-haul flights would have to pay 40-50% more for hydrogen technology.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2020/09/21/airbus-charts-path-to-zero-emission-aviation-by-2035/
PV Magazine of 21 September
McKinsey admits that the switch from paraffin to hydrogen will make airfare a little more expensive. Airbus is clearer, it will cost billions of dollars more, regardless of the airline tickets, which are paid for by the passengers. Since McKinsey's estimate is the result of an order, it is unreliable.
Multiplying the volume of fuel by four is not catastrophic except that it deprives the plane of paying seats and increases the cost of available seats. As for cooling the hydrogen to -253° Celsius, this does not seem reasonable in current use.
