Business News
Airbus plans to revolutionize the commercial flight industry
Thanks to new developments, to the regulations that some countries have imposed with regard to caring for the environment, and to the awareness that some corporations have taken in this regard, various industries such as commercial flights have undergone great positive changes for the planet.
Various international corporations have begun to invest in reducing emissions from their aircraft, and one of them is Airbus.
Currently, aircraft manufacturers as well as airlines work together to minimize carbon emissions. These emissions constitute more than 2% of the total emissions generated on the planet.
Airbus plans to add a hydrogen engine to the A380 jumbo jet
With the goal of being fully operational by 2035, the aircraft manufacturer Airbus has among its strategic plans to incorporate the hydrogen engine into its A380 commercial aircraft.
The A380 is the largest passenger aircraft of the European manufacturer, and the fact that it has hydrogen propulsion will represent a revolution in the commercial flight industry worldwide.
The idea of the aviation giant is to start modifying its aircraft in the middle of this decade, with the aim of starting to use low-emission fuels in local and international commercial trips.
A team work
To achieve its mission, the aeronautical colossus has joined forces and resources with CFM International, the renowned engine manufacturer, which is a joint organization of General Electric – GE. In addition, it will also be working hand in hand with the French company Safran.
The aircraft used for this development will feature a modified model of an engine that has been in use. The difference is that this model must have the ability to withstand temperatures much higher than the temperatures required to burn hydrogen.
Once the design and engineering work is complete, it is estimated that test flights could begin in 2026. According to plans, the aircraft is expected to enter service in 2035.
One aspect that the Airbus staff highlighted is that they selected the A380 aircraft, the largest passenger aircraft in the world, since it has enough space to contain both the liquid hydrogen tanks and other necessary equipment.
Some say Airbus’ ambitions are unrealistic
In the same line of work as Airbus is its closest rival, Boeing. The US-based company has been working in a focused way, with more sustainable jet fuels.
These fuels today represent less than 1% of the jet fuel supply and are much more expensive than regular jet fuel.
On the other hand, some specialists in the area are of the opinion that large-scale commercial aircraft will be able to enter into operations as of 2050. In other words, these experts believe that there is still a long way to go in technology and engineering to make a large-scale aircraft be propelled by hydrogen effectively.
What many say is that getting an aircraft like the A380 to fly is a big challenge. For one thing, hydrogen fuel must be stored on the plane, which requires extra equipment, which in turn represents additional weight for the spacecraft. This reduces both the number of people and the amount of cargo that could be transported, which must be carefully evaluated by the manufacturing company, and by the airlines.
In this field of aviation, innovations of this type represent a drastic change in the commercialization of flights. And considering the reach of Airbus, the impact will be felt considerably in the international economy.