Airbus warns its hydrogen aircraft to be delayed

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus’s development of the hydrogen aircraft is proceeding slower than expected, it says in a statement to the French news agency AFP.

In doing so, Airbus is responding to a union pamphlet stating that the aircraft manufacturer has pushed back the target date for the aircraft’s entry into service by five to ten years. Until now, the target was 2035.

ZEROe project

Airbus unveiled three concepts for hydrogen-powered aircraft in 2020. That ‘ZEROe’ project sets the company apart from other players who are more likely to bet on non-fossil fuel to replace kerosene or on electric engines.

A hydrogen engine is not polluting because it emits only water vapor. However, the fuel is not necessarily green: that depends on the origin of the electricity needed for electrolysis in the production of hydrogen.

The storage of hydrogen aboard the aircraft remains complicated: the fuel only liquefies at -253 degrees Celsius. This requires modified cryogenic tanks, which are four times larger in volume than kerosene tanks.

No new deadline

According to the European aircraft giant, recent developments also show that “progress on the elements essential to this transition, particularly the availability of hydrogen produced from large-scale renewable energy sources, is slower than expected.”

However, even if the required progress is not proceeding at the expected pace, Airbus remains determined to develop a “commercially viable” aircraft fueled by hydrogen instead of kerosene.

“Hydrogen has the potential to be a revolutionary energy source for aviation,” said Airbus, vehemently denying union news that the production budget for developing the hydrogen aircraft would be cut by 25%. The aircraft maker did not communicate a new deadline.

Also, Belgian savings on hydrogen

The aviation sector has committed to stop contributing to global warming by 2050. Air transport accounts for up to 3% of global CO2 emissions, but its impact on the climate is arguably more significant because burning kerosene at altitude releases other gasses and contrails.

For your information, in its exercise to clean up 17 billion euros in five years, the new De Wever government is scrapping almost the entire Belgian subsidy for the development of a hydrogen pipeline network, which amounts to almost 250 million euros.

The cut is a setback for the gas network company Fluxys Belgium. That was selected last year to build the Belgian transport network for hydrogen, initially between major industrial zones and port areas.