Photo: Airbus Cryoprop
Looking at how things are now in the automotive industry, one can't feel like someone, somewhere, took a wrong turn. Sure, cars are becoming increasingly electrified, and that's a good thing, but the tech they rely on for that is batteries, and that's not so great.
There are several ways to generate electricity to move vehicles. The battery way works, but it's not exactly clean, seeing how batteries need to be recharged, and for that they need electricity, most of it still produced through various harmful ways.
Some say (and I believe that too) that the cleanest way to go about electrification is to use hydrogen. Not only is there plenty of it to go around, but it also requires far less harmful ways to generate, store, and deliver. The only byproduct resulting from its use is water.
With billions already poured into battery technology, the automotive industry is far too committed to accept a shift in direction. But in other fields of human activity, like, say, aviation, the switch to greener ways is just beginning, and there's enough time left to take the right path this time.
Players in the aviation industry are looking at several ways of making flight greener. Most of them focus on the creation of new, sustainable fuel that could be used by current aircraft engines. Others are looking to create new and more efficient engines altogether. But there are also plenty of players looking at hydrogen as fuel.
Aside from being green in every way, hydrogen also has a specific energy-per-unit mass three times higher than conventional aviation fuels. If widely adopted, it could help cut aviation CO2 emissions in half.
Because of technological challenges, we're not yet at a point where hydrogen could be widely introduced, but the European aerospace giant believes this is the way to go. Part of an organization called the Hydrogen Council, the company announced at the end of last week a new hydrogen-related (and potentially game-changing) project.
The effort is called Cryoprop, and even if that kind of sound like the name of a pop-punk band, it's really not. Ran by Airbus' subsidiary UpNext, Cryoprop is technically a technology demonstrator meant to "to accelerate the maturation of superconducting technologies for use in electric propulsion systems of a future hydrogen-powered aircraft."
The specifics of the project are not public knowledge yet, but we do know Airbus will use it to demo and test a two megawatt-class superconducting electric propulsion system. It's a setup cooled by liquid hydrogen running through a helium recirculation loop.
Airbus did not say exactly when tests of the Cryoprop will begin, but it did say procedures will not only be limited to the technical aspects, but they will also take into account “industrialization, maintenance, and operations."
Some say (and I believe that too) that the cleanest way to go about electrification is to use hydrogen. Not only is there plenty of it to go around, but it also requires far less harmful ways to generate, store, and deliver. The only byproduct resulting from its use is water.
With billions already poured into battery technology, the automotive industry is far too committed to accept a shift in direction. But in other fields of human activity, like, say, aviation, the switch to greener ways is just beginning, and there's enough time left to take the right path this time.
Players in the aviation industry are looking at several ways of making flight greener. Most of them focus on the creation of new, sustainable fuel that could be used by current aircraft engines. Others are looking to create new and more efficient engines altogether. But there are also plenty of players looking at hydrogen as fuel.
Aside from being green in every way, hydrogen also has a specific energy-per-unit mass three times higher than conventional aviation fuels. If widely adopted, it could help cut aviation CO2 emissions in half.
Because of technological challenges, we're not yet at a point where hydrogen could be widely introduced, but the European aerospace giant believes this is the way to go. Part of an organization called the Hydrogen Council, the company announced at the end of last week a new hydrogen-related (and potentially game-changing) project.
The effort is called Cryoprop, and even if that kind of sound like the name of a pop-punk band, it's really not. Ran by Airbus' subsidiary UpNext, Cryoprop is technically a technology demonstrator meant to "to accelerate the maturation of superconducting technologies for use in electric propulsion systems of a future hydrogen-powered aircraft."
The specifics of the project are not public knowledge yet, but we do know Airbus will use it to demo and test a two megawatt-class superconducting electric propulsion system. It's a setup cooled by liquid hydrogen running through a helium recirculation loop.
Airbus did not say exactly when tests of the Cryoprop will begin, but it did say procedures will not only be limited to the technical aspects, but they will also take into account “industrialization, maintenance, and operations."
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