Fuel-Cell Powered Aircraft Ready For Take Off
by Tony Bosworth, Sydney, Australia on 06.14.07
Czech company Jihlavan Airplanes' Rapid 200 will be used as a flying test bed.
A European research project, led by Turin Polytechnic University, is designing a fuel-cell powered, manned inter-city aircraft.
“Hydrogen and fuel cell power technologies have now reached the point where they can be exploited to initiate a new era of propulsion systems for light aircraft and small commuter aircraft,” says Romeo Giulio of Turin Polytechnic University and the project coordinator.
The Environmentally Friendly Inter-City Aircraft powered by Fuel Cells (ENFICA-FC) project will receive €2.9 million (US$3.9 million) in funding from the European Union as part of the aeronautics and space priority of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).
The fuel cell system will be installed in several aircraft, which will be flight and performance tested. The results of the project will be presented at both on-ground and in-flight public events at the end of the three-year research project.
Meanwhile, Boeing and industry partners in Europe are also developing a light aircraft powered only by a 20 kW fuel cell and a lithium-ion battery pack. The Boeing team expects to begin its flight testing this year.
The project will initially use a two-seat aircraft. The team will use an Intelligent Energy fuel cell system combined with high-efficiency brushless electric motors and an optimized propeller design. The goal is a one-hour flight to validate the performance of an all-electric system.
Among the advantages of deploying hydrogen fuel cell technology in light aircraft would be low noise and low emissions—features which are particularly important for commuter airplanes, which usually take off and land in urban areas.
The possibility to take off and land without contravening the noise regulations set for small airfields, in urban areas and near population centers, will allow the use of airfields late at night, when noise regulations are the most stringent.
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As a pilot and an environmental enthusiust, this is an exciting breakthrough in the aviation community.