Engines
Toshiba and Airbus Jointly Develop Superconducting Electric Motors
Superconductors could make hydrogen-powered airliners more efficient
A digital rendering of a superconducting electric motor
Airbus UpNext and Toshiba will jointly develop a 2-megawatt superconducting electric motor for future hydrogen-powered airliners.

As Airbus presses ahead with plans to bring a hydrogen-powered commercial airliner into service by 2035, the European airframer is eyeing superconductors as a potential enabling technology for the high-power, zero-emissions aircraft. 

Airbus UpNext, an Airbus subsidiary dedicated to future flight technologies, has partnered with Toshiba to collaborate on the development of a superconducting electric motor for future hydrogen-powered aircraft. Under an agreement signed at the Japan Aerospace Exhibition in Tokyo last week, the partners pledged to build and test a 2-megawatt superconducting electric motor.  

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