(Toulouse /France) – The aerospace group Airbus is establishing two “Zero-Emission Development Centers” (ZEDC) at the locations in Bremen (Germany) and Nantes (France). In the future, technicians and scientists will pool their expertise there to develop metallic hydrogen tanks. The aim is to “achieve cost-effective production of cryogenic tanks” to support the market launch of the ZEROe concept and accelerate the development of hydrogen propulsion technologies. The design and integration of tank structures is “critical to the performance of a future hydrogen aircraft.”
Airbus had in September last year three concepts for commercial aircraft powered by hydrogen. The company believes its approach, called “ZEROe,” is “extremely promising” and sees it as “likely a solution for aerospace and many other industries” to meet their climate goals, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said at the time.
The first tests are planned for 2025
The technology development will cover the entire product and industrial capabilities of individual parts, assembly, system integration and cryogenic testing of the liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank system. Both ZEDCs will be fully operational to build LH2023 tanks by 2, with a first flight test planned for 2025.
Airbus chose the Bremen location because of the “decades of LH2 experience within Defense and Space and the Ariane Group”. The ZEDC there will initially concentrate on the system installation and the entire cryogenic tests of the tanks. In addition, it will benefit from the “broad research environment on hydrogen” such as the Research and Technology Center (ECOMAT) and from further synergies from aerospace.
In Nantes, on the other hand, there is “extensive knowledge of metallic structural technologies” in connection with the wing center box, including the safety-demanding center tank for commercial aircraft. The ZEDC there will, among other things, coordinate a wide range of metal and composite material technologies and their integration, and will also be able to use the expertise of the “Technocenter Nantes” and the IRT Jules Verne.
Safety challenge
The tank is “a safety-critical component that requires special system technology.” According to Airbus, LH2 poses a greater challenge than kerosene because it has to be stored at minus 250 degrees Celsius. For commercial aviation, the challenge is to develop a component that can withstand repeated temperature and pressure cycles. The group expects that the LH2 tank structures for commercial aviation will be “metallic” in the near future, although connections with carbon fiber-reinforced plastic are also conceivable.
Photos
ZEROe: Airbus wants to put the world's first climate-neutral, zero-emission commercial aircraft into service by 2035 / © Airbus
