Hydrogen plane

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The Antares DLR-H2 , the world's first manned aircraft powered exclusively by fuel cells , on a demonstration flight in 2014

A hydrogen aircraft is an aircraft that flies with an engine that is powered by hydrogen . Companies and institutions such as Tupolew , Boeing , the German Aerospace Center (DLR) , Lange Aviation and Airbus are researching hydrogen propulsion for manned and unmanned aircraft.

advantages

Since hydrogen contains 2.8 times as much energy as kerosene with the same mass , a hydrogen aircraft with the same range would require considerably less fuel than a modern machine and could thus enable the transport of higher payloads .

Hydrogen burns without the emission of carbon dioxide , carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons , so hydrogen aircraft would have significantly less harmful effects on the environment with regard to these substances . A possible economic advantage arises from this when governments - e.g. B. to implement the agreements of the Kyoto Protocol to combat climate change - adopt support measures for low-emission technologies. However, when burned with air, water vapor ( contrails , even more intense with the same turbine output) and nitrogen oxides continue to be produced .

In the event of fire, the fact that hydrogen is gaseous and lighter than air at temperatures above −253 ° C is seen as an advantage. The formation of fire carpets, as occurs with leaking kerosene, would be ruled out, as escaping hydrogen quickly escapes upwards, so that rescue workers can more easily get to a machine that has broken down on the ground.

disadvantage

Even in its liquid state, the volume of hydrogen is four times greater than that of kerosene. This means that either less space remains for payloads or that the fuselages of hydrogen aircraft would have to be designed correspondingly larger. In addition, tanks in which liquid hydrogen is to be transported must be spherical or cylindrical with today's state of the art. This means that it is only possible to a limited extent to accommodate the tanks in the wings - as is the case today with kerosene tanks. This means that new positions have to be found to accommodate the fuel tanks. Discussions are currently (2006) e.g. B. via an installation in the fuselage above the passenger or cargo cabin.

Due to the high combustion temperature of hydrogen, environmentally harmful nitrogen oxides are produced when it is burned with air.

The use of hydrogen as a fuel requires new designs for tanks, fuel systems and engines for the machines, as well as a new refueling technique at airports. The concepts developed for automotive technology, e.g. B. light pressure tanks, can also be used in aircraft technology.

Hydrogen has to be produced in an energy-intensive manner, which can result in further disadvantages. Currently (2006) this is done from natural gas , releasing carbon dioxide. Production from biomass , which is only available to a limited extent, is in the trial stage. Production by electrolysis from solar power is economical in the case of excess capacities ( wind gas ).

developments

Tupolev Tu-155

In the 1980s, Tupolev tested alternative fuels for jet engines as part of the further development of the Tu-154 . The Tu-155 prototype powered by liquid hydrogen or natural gas was created . In this three-jet engine, the right engine was not powered by kerosene, but by hydrogen or natural gas. The Tu-155 completed its first flight with liquid hydrogen on April 15, 1988, its first flight with natural gas propulsion on January 18, 1989.

Boeing

A Diamond HK36 converted to electric propulsion by Boeing , whose fuel cell system provides enough power for level flight

From February 2008, Boeing started testing Phantom Works (ID: EC-003) based on a Diamond HK36, a manned electric aircraft powered by electricity from a battery and a fuel cell system. The power output of the fuel cell was designed for level flight. The climb took place with additional energy from a lithium-ion battery .

In July 2010, Boeing introduced the hydrogen-powered Phantom Eye , a long-lasting, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft for great heights. The drive system consists of two combustion engines that are powered by hydrogen.

Antares DLR-H2

The fuel cell powered Antares DLR-H2 electric aircraft

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) has developed the Antares DLR-H2, the world's first manned aircraft powered exclusively by fuel cells , based on an Antares 20E from Lange Aviation . The machine was presented in September 2008. The official first flight took place on July 7, 2009 in Hamburg. The machine has a hydrogen tank and a highly efficient fuel cell system in two additional external load containers. With a maximum output of 25 kW and a continuous output of over 20 kW, a 42 kW brushless electric motor is operated. The overall efficiency is around 44%.

Antares H3

The DLR and Lange Research Aircraft GmbH developed the motor glider Antares H3, which should achieve a range of 5500 km with a flight time of 50 hours. Payloads of up to 200 kg were to be carried, the take-off weight was 1500 kg. Electric motor and fuel cell were provided for propulsion, with hydrogen tanks in 4 streamlined containers under the wings. The Antares 20E electric glider, which has been flying since 2004, and the Antares DLR-H2 hydrogen aircraft served as the basis for the development. In a further expansion stage, the aircraft should also fly unmanned. The first flight was planned for 2011, but did not take place.

HY4

The HY4 hydrogen fuel cell aircraft on its maiden flight on September 29, 2016 over Stuttgart Airport

On October 12, 2015, DLR presented the concept of a four-seat hydrogen fuel cell passenger aircraft HY4 to the public . This is developed with partners from public research institutions, universities and industry and can cover a distance of 750 to 1500 km at a cruising speed of 165 km / h, depending on the storage technology. The first flight took place on September 29, 2016.

The Cryoplane Project

Under the name Cryoplane (German: Kälteflugzeug ), a major project by 36 companies, universities and authorities under the leadership of Airbus ran from 2000 to 2002 with the aim of investigating the technical and economic feasibility as well as safety aspects and the environmental compatibility of liquid hydrogen as an aircraft fuel, as well as strategies for a smooth changeover to this new fuel. The name of the project is derived from the need to cool hydrogen to at least −253 ° C in order to keep it in a liquid state.

The Hydrogenius project

At the University of Stuttgart , the Institute for Aircraft Construction developed a two-seater motor glider powered by hydrogen under the project name Hydrogenius . The energy stored as gaseous hydrogen is converted into electricity in a fuel cell; an electric motor drives the propeller. With this, Rudolf Voit-Nitschmann's team succeeded in winning the city of Ulm's Berblinger flight competition in 2006 .

See also

literature

  • Thomas Wagner-Nagy: Through the air without exhaust gas. In: PM , No. 1/2020, pp. 44-49

Web links

Commons : Hydrogen Aircraft  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ion tiger hydrogen UAV. Sciencedaily.com, October 15, 2009, accessed December 12, 2010 .
  2. ↑ DLR Boeing tests hydrogen aircraft. For the first time with a pilot. In: Kronenzeitung. Krone Multimedia GmbH & Co KG, April 4, 2008, accessed on October 3, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Boeing's 'Phantom Eye' Ford Fusion powered stratocraft. The Register, July 13, 2010, accessed July 14, 2010 .
  4. ↑ DLR Institute of Technical Thermodynamics: Take off with the fuel cell: Everything about the Antares DLR-H2. In: German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute for Technical Thermodynamics. Retrieved October 2, 2016 .
  5. ^ Lange Aviation: Research Aircraft , accessed on January 27, 2017.
  6. ↑ 50 hours of flight time with Antares H3 H2-magazine for hydrogen and fuel cells, blog entry November 17, 2010, accessed on January 27, 2017.
  7. ↑ Lange Aviation: Antares H3 - Lange and DLR develop second generation of the fuel cell aircraft ( Memento of December 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), first flight “planned for 2011”, accessed on September 8, 2013.
  8. ↑ H2international - Launch of Emission-Free Passenger Aircraft Hy4 , accessed on September 29, 2016.
  9. ↑ H2Fly site , accessed on 29 September 2016th
  10. ↑ DRL Press Portal - Emission-free propulsion for aviation: First flight of the four-seat passenger aircraft HY4 , accessed on September 29, 2016.
  11. ↑ Jürgen Schelling: HY4 being tested: The first four-seat hydrogen aircraft . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . October 12, 2016, ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed October 24, 2016]).
  12. ↑ Take to the skies with a battery drive. In: uni-stuttgart.de. April 13, 2011, accessed January 29, 2017 .