Photo: ATI
Range anxiety doesn’t seem to be an issue when it comes to zero-emissions aviation. A concept aircraft that’s just been unveiled by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) in the UK promises to be able to fly anywhere in the world, at the same speed as conventional alternatives, with just one stop.
FlyZero is a project funded by the UK government and led by ATI, meant to research, design, and build a hydrogen-powered midsize commercial aircraft. The recently-unveiled concept will be able to fly 279 passengers from London to places such as San Francisco, Beijing, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, or Honolulu, at the same speed as current aircraft and just as comfortably, with only one stop.
The pioneering aircraft, with a wingspan of 177 feet (54 meters), will be equipped with two turbofan engines powered by hydrogen and able to offer an impressive 5,250-nautical mile (6,000 miles/9,723 km) range. Tanks in the aft fuselage and along the front side of the fuselage will carry liquid hydrogen at -250 degrees Celsius (-418 degrees Fahrenheit).
This concept was possible thanks to the FlyZero technology innovations developed throughout the research phase, including dry wings (wings without fuel tanks), cryogenic fuel systems, fuel cells, hydrogen gas turbines, and electrical power systems. According to ATI researchers, liquid hydrogen is considered a viable alternative for zero-emissions long-haul flights because it has three times the energy of kerosene, and sixty times the energy of batteries, per kilogram.
But technological challenges continue to exist, with costs also being high. As demand for green hydrogen increases, costs will eventually drop to the point where a new generation of hydrogen-powered aircraft will be able to operate on a large scale. ATI estimates that this will happen by 2030.
Until then, the three final FlyZero concepts (regional, narrowbody, and midsize) will be presented at the beginning of 2022, together with a sustainability assessment, plus all financial and market reports. Highly efficient long-range flights that are also environmentally friendly will soon become a reality.
The pioneering aircraft, with a wingspan of 177 feet (54 meters), will be equipped with two turbofan engines powered by hydrogen and able to offer an impressive 5,250-nautical mile (6,000 miles/9,723 km) range. Tanks in the aft fuselage and along the front side of the fuselage will carry liquid hydrogen at -250 degrees Celsius (-418 degrees Fahrenheit).
This concept was possible thanks to the FlyZero technology innovations developed throughout the research phase, including dry wings (wings without fuel tanks), cryogenic fuel systems, fuel cells, hydrogen gas turbines, and electrical power systems. According to ATI researchers, liquid hydrogen is considered a viable alternative for zero-emissions long-haul flights because it has three times the energy of kerosene, and sixty times the energy of batteries, per kilogram.
But technological challenges continue to exist, with costs also being high. As demand for green hydrogen increases, costs will eventually drop to the point where a new generation of hydrogen-powered aircraft will be able to operate on a large scale. ATI estimates that this will happen by 2030.
Until then, the three final FlyZero concepts (regional, narrowbody, and midsize) will be presented at the beginning of 2022, together with a sustainability assessment, plus all financial and market reports. Highly efficient long-range flights that are also environmentally friendly will soon become a reality.
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