FutureFlight
Airbus Plans For Hydrogen Airliners in Service By 2035, But May Still Develop An All-electric eVTOL
Airbus says it will complete flight testing of its CityAirbus eVTOL technology demonstrator, despite committing to hydrogen propulsion for larger airliners.
Airbus ZeroE blended wing concept
A blended wing design is the most amibitious of the three concepts for a hydrogen-powered airliner unveiled by Airbus on September 21, 2020. [Image: Airbus]

Airbus is working on concepts for possible hydrogen-powered airliners that it says could be ready to enter service by 2035. Announcing plans for what the European airframer said will be the world’s first “zero-emissions” commercial aircraft, Airbus on September 21 unveiled three designs being developed under a project designated ZeroE.

According to chief technology officer Grazia Vittadini, Airbus will make a final decision on the hydrogen technology platform in 2024 and ready a technology demonstrator for a first flight during 2025. Its engineering team expects in 2021 to have a hydrogen ground demonstrator ready to help it to address complex technology risks around the ecosystem for hydrogen power, such as the fuel’s volume and cryogenic (low temperature) characteristics.

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