Air travel is like a snail on double-sided tape on the road to decarbonization, but the pace could pick up if Airbus pushes through its plan to develop hydrogen hubs at airports around the world. Not so long ago, a large amount of fossil energy would be involved. However, Airbus has just signed an agreement with global industrial gas company Linde to help implement its plan, and Linde has plans to improve the green hydrogen supply chain.
Not-so-green hydrogen for the airport of the future
In terms of decarbonizing from soup to nuts, the Linde deal could mean a number of different things for Airbus’ global hydrogen hub plan, which the aircraft maker launched in 2020.
Hydrogen is not a 100% clean-burning fuel because nitrogen oxides are part of the emissions package. On the plus side, hydrogen emits only trace amounts of carbon dioxide when burned. When hydrogen is used in a fuel cell to generate electricity, there are no emissions at all into the air. Water is the only by-product.
The problem is that the modern world economy runs on hydrogen, mainly from steam reforming, with natural gas as the primary raw material. Coal and recovered industrial by-products are also part of the picture.
Older companies like Linde have a solid hydrogen footprint from fossil sources, but they are also starting to respond to customer demand for more sustainable sourcing. Carbon restrictions in a growing number of jurisdictions worldwide are also having an impact. In addition to its conventional hydrogen operations, Linde also offers a hydrogen product certified as 40% less carbon-intensive than the conventional steam method, which uses waste gases and other alternative raw materials.
Demand for green hydrogen is rising
None of this sounds particularly appealing from a planet-saving point of view, but Airbus is one of those customers looking for more sustainable hydrogen sourcing, and it’s targeting green hydrogen from renewable sources, giving suppliers like Linde all the more incentive to purchasing more sustainably.
“Hydrogen is a high potential technology, with a specific energy per unit mass that three times higher than traditional jet fuel. When generated from renewable energy through electrolysis, it emits no CO2 emissions, potentially allowing renewable energy to power large aircraft over long distances, but without the unwanted by-product of CO2 emissions,” says Airbus enthusiastically (emphasizing) .
Airbus is currently considering two routes for hydrogen in aircraft. In its current state, hydrogen can be used as a combustible fuel in modified gas turbines, or it can be used to generate electricity in a fuel cell.
The other path is to use hydrogen as a raw material for the production of new fuels, with carbon dioxide and the help of renewable energy. This falls under the emerging category of electric fuels, which are low-emission but not emission-free. As with biofuels, the aim is to recycle carbon rather than extract buried carbon from the earth.
More and greener hydrogen on the way
Airbus expects to make a decision by 2025. Either way, the company expects green hydrogen to play an important role in its hydrogen journey, and Linde looks set to get ready for a front row seat.
In January 2021, Linde announced that it will build a 24 megawatt electrolyzer at the sprawling Leuna Chemical Complex in Germany. The facility, the largest of its kind at the time, will supply green hydrogen to industrial customers through Linde’s existing pipelines. The company also announced plans to distribute liquid green hydrogen in the region.
Linde is apparently on track to set the wheels in motion in Leuna sometime this year. Meanwhile, it won’t let the green hydrogen grass grow under its feet. In January this year, the company announced plans for another 24 megawatt electrolysis plant at Herøya Industripark in Porsgrunn, Norway, to supply hydrogen for a Yara ammonia plant. The idea is to demonstrate green hydrogen as a driver of decarbonisation for the fertilizer industry and shipping, two areas of direct interest to Yara.
What is this hydrogen hub you are talking about?
As for Linde’s role in the Airbus H2 hub plan, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding last week covering airports around the world, including a number of pilot projects starting next year. The two companies will also collaborate on an assessment of electric fuels.
Currently, airports in France, Italy, Japan, Singapore and South Korea have joined the hub concept, which is primarily aimed at integrating hydrogen into ground operations.
In support of the plan, Airbus also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Airports International Council Europe last week aimed at improving “collaboration on new aircraft energy ecosystems.”
“The shared goal is to enable wider use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and develop the hydrogen ecosystem needed for the zero-emission aircraft technologies, by preparing and commercializing the associated supporting airport infrastructure,” explains Airbus.
The zero-emission aircraft of the future
If all goes according to plan, the new hydrogen hubs will also serve Airbus’s new hydrogen aircraft. The company unveiled its first “ZEROe” concept aircraft in 2020, presenting hydrogen as “an option that Airbus believes holds exceptional promise as a clean jet fuel and is likely to be a solution for aerospace and many other industries to achieve their carbon neutral footprint.” achieve goals.”
Now is a good time to bet on the winning concept:
“A turbofan design (120-200 passengers) with a range of more than 2,000 nautical miles, capable of transcontinental operation and powered by a modified hydrogen gas turbine engine…
“A turboprop design (up to 100 passengers) that uses a turboprop engine instead of a turbofan and also powered by hydrogen combustion in modified gas turbine engines, which could travel more than 1,000 nautical miles…
“A blended-wing body concept (up to 200 passengers) where the wings fuse with the main body of the aircraft with a reach comparable to that of the turbofan concept.”
Batteries are included
If you’re wondering if there’s a battery-electric aircraft in Airbus’s future, that’s a good question. Airbus appears to be relying on hydrogen for large-scale flights, but it has also hammered away at intercity and regional travel, thought CityAirbus NextGen electric vertical take-off and landing planes.
Last week was certainly a busy week for Airbus. The company also announced a new agreement with Munich Airport International to provide ground infrastructure services and other support for the CityAirbus, which resembles a fixed-wing helicopter with a V-shaped tail instead of a top-mounted rotor.
Airbus has gradually shared responsibility for the development of parts of the CityAirbus, most recently KLM Motorsports for the tail and MAGicALL for the electric motors. So far, no word on the battery, other than that they seem to hope the latest generation of lithium-ion batteries can handle the task.
Hydrogen aircraft and battery-powered aircraft of any significant size are both years away, although both have made progress. United Airlines, for example, is investing in the idea of battery-powered flying for short trips. It is also one of the latest to jump aboard the fuel cell aircraft trend, in partnership with emerging hydrogen fuel cell aircraft company ZeroAvia. The US Navy is also looking at a solar-powered fuel cell aircraft that could fly practically forever without refueling.
Meanwhile, Airbus, like other aviation industry stakeholders, is leaning on bio-based SAF to fill the gap. The company is already certified to fly on a mixture of 50% biobased SAF and 50% kerosene, and last year it started testing 100% SAF from used cooking fat and other waste fat.
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Image: ZEROe concept aircraft courtesy of Airbus.
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