Boeing's Zero-Emission Plane Set To Take Off
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 08.29.06
Boeing plans to launch a hydrogen fuel cell-powered light-aircraft prototype within a year, the Sunday Times reports. The only emissions from such a plane would be water vapor. The plane will be a small craft, and might have a top speed of only 70 miles per hour. Boeing is working with Intelligent Energy, a British fuel cell designer. “What we are designing is a demonstrator aircraft to see if it can be done,” said Boeing. “This technology is in its infancy but it has great potential.” The aircraft is based on the Diamond Dimona, an Austrian plane chosen for its light weight. Boeing engineers in Madrid have stripped out its fuel tank, replacing it with a bottle of compressed hydrogen that will feed into a fuel cell.
There, the hydrogen will be chemically combined with oxygen from the air to generate power. This will then be fed to an electric motor to turn the propeller.
The system is mechanically simple. Fuel cells have no moving parts and run silently. They tend, however, to be bulky and expensive, which is why their use has never become widespread.
Dr Jon Moore, director of communications at Intelligent Energy, based in Loughborough, Leicestershire, said technological advances were now making such devices far lighter and cheaper, but aviation remained the biggest challenge.
“The secret lies in making a fuel cell powerful enough to get an aircraft off the ground and to keep it climbing,” he said. “That takes a huge amount of energy and it is a big obstacle.”
Boeing has overcome this by backing up the fuel cell with batteries that provide extra power for take-off and then recharge while the aircraft is cruising.
The Boeing project will be the first manned fuel cell- powered aircraft. Last year AeroVironment, a Californianfirm, flew an unmanned surveillance plane, the Global Observer, which was powered by a fuel cell.
Even if Boeing succeeds with its aircraft it will take many years to scale it up for commercial use.
Another big problem is finding a supply of “green” hydrogen. Most commercially produced hydrogen is synthesised in refineries from fossil fuels such as natural gas. Critics call this “black hydrogen” because carbon dioxide is generated as a by-product, cancelling out many of the potential benefits.
Via: The Sunday Times via Ecogeek via Ecofriend
"The only emissions from such a plane would be water vapour"
As far as I understand it, this could be a problem in itself. I believe water vapour is a signigicant factor in climate change as it can trap heat in the atmosphere.
I've been wondering if the aviation industry has been moving towards cleaner fuels. There isn't now, nor do I expect there to ever be, enough Bio-fuels to replace all automobile and aviation needs (step 1 - reduce need!).
I'm glad to see that hydrogen is making in-roads into aviation also.
Of course there is that proposed aircraft that uses buoyancy to fly.
Have they found a clean way to produce the hydrogen yet?
With all of this talk about fuel cells, is anyone mentioning the fact that this conversion will cause an ecological nightmare as well. Can we say "Battery Disposal"? A fuel cell in itself is basically a big battery. And batteries wear out. To find a TRULY "Green" answer is near impossible with the energy an locomotion needs of modern societies. Don't get me wrong, I laud ANY attempt at moving away from fossil fuels. Great example is the Bio-Mass Power plant being built in South Florida. Totally self contained. They grow the reeds used to power the plant right on the premises! Long time of course before we see that kind of technology in vehicles! Food for thought!
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editor note: There's no reason why fuel cells, like batteries, can't be recycled. It's especially true in the case of fuel cells since they contain some rare metals.
hydrogen is not a clean fuel. the production of hydrogen uses electricity, it's just a different way to store energy.
A very interesting concept is the Flying Wing. Check it out.
It's not a bad idea, but personally I prefer the flying wing airliner concept.
Glad to see aviation companies are making some effort to go green, there's still a lot to be done though. I like planes, but companies need to work hard to reduce noise and emissions. Boeing and Airbus should really seize this opportunity to develop eco-friendly aircraft. Who knows, if they succeed in future we may see George Monbiot becoming a planespotter! I dream of the day when I can fly on an airliner and not feel guilty. At the moment I fly gliders - a great way to fly and more comfortable than hang gliding.
your plane looks good
"The only emissions from such a plane would be water vapor."
Indeed, water vapour accounts for about 65% of greenhouse effect...
It's funny how ppl are unsuspecting of water vapor, but if you would have told them that it only produced carbon dioxide, then it would have been horrible coz ppl think its the #1 culprit of global warming.
I don't understand why some are so upset about the water vapor in the atmosphere.
Water vapor in the atmosphere = Clouds!
Yes water vapor can trap more heat than greenhouse gases but this is pretty normal. For example anyone who lives in an area with cold winters will tell you that low overcast days are much warmer normally that clear days because the low clouds (water vapor in the atmosphere) keeps the radiation (heat) close to the surface. Our atmosphere normally has huge amounts of water vapor in it, this is basically weather.
I don't know off hand how much water vapor the above mentioned planes would emit, but I'm sure it wouldn't be much compared to say for example just a small cumulus cloud which usually have liquid water content in the range of several hundred tons.
If you're still worried about the excess water vapor in the atmosphere then I guess you should already be alarmed as this is already happening as we speak. Ever see those long white lines left behind by modern jet fuel burning airliners? They are known as "contrails" and formed by the water vapor in the atmosphere created by the normal combustion process.