Commercial Aviation’s Hydrogen Propulsion Play Poses Myriad Challenges To Building a Green Ecosystem

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Commercial Aviation’s Hydrogen Play Poses Myriad Challenges

Hydrogen-powered aircraft programs attract increased attention and public funding, but the task of building a green hydrogen ecosystem will prove daunting.

Hydrogen propulsion — Industrial gas company Air Liquide and Groupe ADP have agreed to establish a 50/50 joint venture to provide airports with the engineering and services they will need for their transition to hydrogen. (Image: Groupe ADP)

By Cathy Buyck • Contributor - Europe

June 15, 2023

One can fairly say that the concept of hydrogen propulsion has become a mainstream concept in commercial aviation. A new research program, project, or alliance to advance the development of hydrogen-powered aircraft and a related hydrogen (H2) ecosystem gets launched almost weekly as national or regional governments increase funding to help decarbonize aviation and their wider economies. For the aviation industry, hydrogen propulsion stands as one of the main avenues toward net zero emissions by 2050.

The UK’s Jet Zero strategy estimates that rapid investment in hydrogen aviation could see the country secure up to 19 percent of the global aerospace industry share, valued at £178 billion ($222 billion) per year in 2050, and 60,000 aerospace jobs on zero-carbon aircraft by the same year. In line with that strategy, the UK is supporting the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) program with £685 million in funding from 2022 to 2025 to research the development of zero-carbon and ultra-low emission aircraft technology.

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