There are three concepts under consideration from the aerospace giant for this purpose
Aerospace giant Airbus has revealed plans to develop a commercial plane run on hydrogen as fuel which will have zero emissions. The aircraft manufacturer expects the plane to be ready for operations by 2035. The company revealed three different concepts for aircrafts that will be pursued.
The concept planes vary in design and capacity. One of the turboprop designs will be able to fly up to 1,000 nautical miles and carry up to a 100 passengers. Another one may fly up to 2,000 nautical miles with a passenger capacity of 120 to 200 passengers. The third design aims at a large body aircraft that can store large amounts of hydrogen and fly at a great distance. It will also be able to carry a larger number of passengers.
The Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, termed it a “historic moment for the commercial aviation sector” that marks the “most important transition this industry has ever seen”.
“The concepts we unveil today offer the world a glimpse of our ambition to drive a bold vision for the future of zero-emission flight. I strongly believe that the use of hydrogen – both in synthetic fuels and as a primary power source for commercial aircraft – has the potential to significantly reduce aviation’s climate impact,” Faury said.
“The transition to hydrogen, as the primary power source for these concept planes, will require decisive action from the entire aviation ecosystem,” said Mr Faury.
“Together with the support from government and industrial partners, we can rise up to this challenge to scale up renewable energy and hydrogen for the sustainable future of the aviation industry,” he added.
With growing concerns about carbon emissions, aircraft like these are much needed. The CO2 production from the aviation industry is over 900 million tons a year. Even a considerable number of zero-emissions planes can significantly lower that number.
