The Latest Development of Powering Aircraft (Aviation) with Hydrogen and Assessing the Technology Readiness

Abstract To meet the aviation emissions reduction targets, the performance characteristics in terms of power output, fuel consumption and propulsive efficiencies of hydrogen-powered aircraft have been reviewed and assessed. The design performance of an aircraft model (regional turboprop ATR 72-600) retrofitted with hydrogen-based propulsive systems was investigated, and comparisons are made against the conventional jet-fuelled propulsion. The hydrogen retrofit constituted two configurations; a fuel cell (FC) powered and direct combustion design. The power characteristics of the three propulsive configurations along with the fuel consumption and efficiencies have been numerically modelled and evaluated. The hydrogen retrofits in both architectures (FC and direct combustion) have been found to perform in line with required operational parameters. They have also demonstrated high level of efficiency in terms of reduced fuel consumption up to 50% for the FC retrofit and 80% for direct combustion design. The weight factor, however, poses a significant challenge to the feasibility of the hydrogen technology.