Sustainable Aviation: 150 Years of Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft (1874–2025)
J. C. Wanja NJUE
Aeronautical Engineer - QantasLink BEng Flight Vehicle Design & Eng., MSc Thermal Power - Gas Turbine Technology
For over 150 years, pioneers in the field of aviation have demonstrated remarkable ingenuity and progress. From the early days of Zeppelins, such as the Luftschiff Zeppelin 1 (LZ 1), which used hydrogen as a lifting gas and was steered by forward and aft rudders and driven by two 15-hp Daimler internal-combustion engines, each rotating two propellers [36], to today's cutting-edge hydrogen-electric aircraft, the evolution of flight showcases an extraordinary journey of transformation and innovation.
Breakthroughs in hydrogen fuel cells, cryogenic liquid hydrogen storage, and retrofitted engines are shaping a cleaner future for air travel.
Milestones such as the Stralis Aircraft (YC W23) Clyde's successful hydrogen-electric powered propeller spin test, German Aerospace Center (DLR) HY4's range-doubling liquid hydrogen system, ZeroAvia 's pioneering commercial-scale hydrogen-electric flights, and Universal Hydrogen 's retrofit kits highlight the potential for scalable, zero-emission solutions.
2024: YC W23 Hydrogen Electric Powered propeller spin test
In 2024, Stralis Aircraft (YC W23) Aircraft successfully conducted a hydrogen-electric powered propeller spin test on its ground-demonstrator aircraft, Clyde [11] .
Stralis Aircraft (YC W23) project that the Southern Hemisphere's first piloted hydrogen-electric powered flight will occur in 2025, using their experimental flight-demonstrator Bonanza A36 aircraft, Bonnie[11].
2024: Hydrogen Powered Internal Combustion Engine (ICE)
A hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine (ICE) aircraft completed its maiden flight in Shenyang, China. The four-seat prototype flew at Faku Caihu Airport [12] [13].
The 8.2-meter aircraft, capable of storing 4.5 kilograms of high-pressure hydrogen, demonstrated 120 kW of engine power and achieved a cruising speed of 180 km/h. At an altitude of 200 meters, the test pilot reported ample power and smooth performance [12] [13].
2024: Liquid Hydrogen Powered Drone Prototype
The drone was equipped with a lightweight cryogenic liquid hydrogen storage tank paired with a hydrogen fuel cell system. The development of the liquid hydrogen fuel supply and refueling systems was led by Tongchen Heguang Cryogenic Technology in collaboration with Xi'an Jiaotong University. Shengshi Yingchuang managed the drone's assembly. At the heart of the project was Xi'an Jiaotong University's liquid hydrogen production and storage platform, which ensured a reliable and efficient fuel supply, enabling the drone's seamless operation [14].
2023: H2FLY Liquid Hydrogen Powered Electric Aircraft
H2FLY successfully completed the world’s first piloted flight of an electric aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen- [22]. The HY4 demonstrator aircraft underwent multiple test flights using a hydrogen-electric fuel cell system and cryogenically stored liquid hydrogen.
The HY4, developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is a four-seat passenger aircraft powered solely by a hydrogen fuel cell system.
The use of liquid hydrogen enabled the HY4 to double its range from 750 km to 1,500 km compared to gaseous hydrogen.
The accomplishment was part of Project HEAVEN, a European consortium involving partners such as Air Liquide, Pipistrel Vertical Solutions, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
The project aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of cryogenic liquid hydrogen in aviation.
2023: HyFlyer II Hydrogen Powered Electric Aircraft
ZeroAvia flew the world’s first commercial-scale hydrogen-electric aircraft in September 2020 - ZeroAvia's HyFlyer I. On January 20, 2023, the HyFlyer II project achieved a significant milestone as a Dornier 228 twin-engine aircraft successfully completed its first flight test in a testbed configuration [9].
The aircraft was retrofitted with ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engine on its left wing. The hydrogen-electric engine operated alongside a single Honeywell Aerospace Technologies TPE-331 engine on the right.
The hydrogen-electric powertrain on board was fuelled using compressed gaseous hydrogen. Hydrogen tanks and fuel cell power generation systems were housed inside the cabin. In a commercial configuration, external storage would be used and the seats restored.
The aircraft successfully completed taxiing, takeoff, a full circuit, and landing in just six minutes. The flight took place from the ZeroAvia ’s R&D facility at Cotswold Airport , UK. The HyFlyer II project was supported by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), headquartered in Cranfield.
One of the ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engine is the ZA600 [10]. Typical Airframes for ZA600 are DHC-6 Twin Otter, Dornier 228 and Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. The ZA600 is a 500 to 750 Kw continuous hydrogen-electric powertrain for up to 20 seat fixed-wing aircraft [10].
ZeroAvia a started in 2018 with the mission to replace conventional engines with hydrogen-electric powertrains in every aircraft [7][8]. They collaborate with aircraft operators, owners and manufacturers to supply zero-emission powertrains and the infrastructure and fuel [7].
2023: Universal Hydrogen Dash 8-300
Universal Hydrogen Dash 8-300, fondly named Lightning McClean’s test flight took place at Grand County International Airport in Washington State, lasted for 15 minutes and reached a height of 3500 feet Mean Sea Level [26] .
2022: Universal Hydrogen ATR 72-500 Demonstrator
On July 11, 2022, California-based Universal Hydrogen unveiled its modified ATR 72-500 hydrogen fuel demonstrator at its new engineering center in Toulouse, France [25].
The aircraft's powertrain was converted from a turboprop to hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric motors, showcasing its hydrogen retrofit kit [25].
2020: Airbus ZEROe Aircraft Concepts
The ZEROe project includes four aircraft concepts, all powered by hydrogen [34].
These configurations incorporate two distinct propulsion methods:
For the Techinical difference read - Hydrogen Fuel Cells vs Hydrogen Combustion Engines for Aircraft Propulsion
ZEROe Turbofan Concept
ZEROe Turboprop Concept
ZEROe Blended-Wing Body (BWB) Concept
ZEROe Fully Electric Concept
2020: HyFlyer I Hydrogen Powered Electric Aircraft
ZeroAvia 's HyFlyer I successfully completed a hydrogen fuel cell-powered test flight on September 24, 2020, at the company's R&D facility in Cranfield, England [23].
During the flight, the six-seater Piper M-class plane successfully performed taxiing, takeoff, a full pattern circuit, and landing [23] [16].
2020: NederDrone Hydrogen Powered UAV
The NederDrone is a hydrogen-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) featuring hybrid lift and energy systems developed by a team led by Christophe De Wagter at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)[6].
NederDrone is capable of vertical take-off and landing using 12 propellers and efficient forward flight with fixed wings. It has a combined hydrogen-driven Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel-cells and lithium batteries. The hydrogen is stored in a pressurized cylinder around which the UAV is optimized [6].
In 2020 The NederDrone achieved over 3.5 hours of stable flight [4].
2016: The HY4 Gaseous Hydrogen Powered Electric Aircraft
The HY4, developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is a four-seat passenger aircraft powered solely by a hydrogen fuel cell system. It achieved its maiden flight on September 29, 2016, at Stuttgart Airport, powered by gaseous hydrogen [18].
The photograph is the Hy4 aircraft following its inaugural flight in 2016. In the photograph, from the third person to the left, Georg Fundel, André Thess, ivo Boscarol, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Josef Kallo, the Founder and CEO of H2FLY.
The HY4’s power train system comprises a hydrogen storage system, low-temperature hydrogen fuel cell and battery. The hydrogen storage system consists of two carbon-fiber tanks, one in each fuselage, operating at a pressure of 4,300 to 5,800 psi [24].
2012: Boeing Phantom Eye Liquid Hydrogen UAV
The Phantom Eye from Boeing was a hydrogen-powered, high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that completed its first flight on June 1, 2012 at Edwards Air Force Base. It reached an altitude of 4,000 ft and a speed of 115 km/h for 28 minutes [20].
2008: Boeing Diamond DA20 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Aircraft
On April 3, 2008, Boeing announced the successful flight of a solely hydrogen fuel cells (HFCs) manned aircraft [32]
The aircraft, built by Diamond Aircraft Industries , it was modified include utilized a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell/lithium-ion hybrid system [33].
In test flights the aircraft reached an altitude of 1,000 m and cruised at 100 km/h for 20 minutes powered exclusively HFCs.
1988: Liquid Hydrogen Powered Tupolev Tu-155
The Liquid Hydrogen Powered Tu-155 prototype made its first flight on 15 April 1988 [27].
Tu-155 is a modified Tupolev Tu-154 which was used as an alternative fuel testbed [28].
1956: The Martin B-57B Canberra, mid-flight jet fuel to Liquid Hydrogen
The United States explored using hydrogen as aircraft fuel under "Bee Project"[31]. The Martin B-57B Canberra was chosen as the test aircraft, modified to switch between jet fuel and hydrogen mid-flight.
On 23 December 1956 was the initial tests that faced challenges, including engine overspeed and vibration [30]. When the transition from JP-4 to hydrogen led to the engine responding by overspeeding and vibrating hard the pilots shut it down, purged the lines, and jettisoned the liquid hydrogen in the wing tank [31].
The flights of the hydrogen-fueled B-57 was made with a helium pressurization system to force the liquid hydrogen from the wing-tip tank to the engines [31].
1874–1895: Zeppelin Hydrogen as the lifting gas
The Luftschiff Zeppelin 1 (LZ 1) was 420 feet long, 38.5 feet in diameter, and held approximately 399,000 cubic feet of hydrogen in 17 rubberized cotton gas cells.
LZ-1 used hydrogen as the lifting gas for passenger-carrying airships.
Hydrogen-powered aviation has evolved over 150 years, from LZ-1 to cutting-edge hydrogen powered aircraft.
These milestones highlight innovation and progress toward sustainable, zero-emission air travel, paving the way for a cleaner future in aviation.
As the industry embraces these advancements, hydrogen innovations offer a compelling path toward achieving carbon-neutral aviation.
The timeline of achievements outlined here underscores a powerful message:
sustainable aviation is not just a goal but an evolving reality, driven by the relentless pursuit of progress and the promise of a greener future for generations to come.
REFERENCE
Project Manager - Avmax Aviation Services Inc
1 个月Interesting
Owner at Flame Science International Pty Ltd
1 个月Zeppelins were NOT hydrogen powered. They used Maybach petrol engines.
B1, B2 & C Line Maintenance Engineer at Qantaslink
1 个月There is a reason we currently use the fuel we do - energy density. Whilst this experimentation in alternative fuels is important, for Aviation, I suspect hydrogen is not the answer Wanja.