Aircraft
Boeing Projects Sober View of Hydrogen, Electric Power
Safety and infrastructure considerations present big barriers to alternative power for airplanes, cautions BCA v-p of product development Mike Sinnett.

A day after Airbus endeavored to boost its environmental credentials with Monday’s announcement of a commitment to bringing to market a hydrogen-powered airliner by 2035, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of product development Mike Sinnett expressed what some might consider a more sober view of the prospects for such modes of propulsion. While participating in a briefing with reporters to recap Boeing’s recent completion of the latest phase of its ecoDemonstrator program, Sinnett cautioned about the limitations of electrical power as well, noting that battery technology—even as far as it has advanced in the laboratory—won’t soon reach a level of maturity to allow for real-world application in narrowbodies.