Monthly Archives: May 2024

Airbus Launches Hydrogen Feasibility Studies at North American Airports

Category:News Tags : #aviation #businessaviation #innovation #oem

Major airports in the U.S. and Canada could become ‘hydrogen hubs’

As Airbus presses ahead with ambitious plans to bring hydrogen-powered airliners into commercial service through its ZeroE program, the aircraft manufacturer is eyeing several major airports in North America as locations for potential “hydrogen hubs.”

On Tuesday the company announced it is launching three studies into the feasibility of establishing hydrogen hubs at some of the biggest airports in the U.S. and Canada, including George Bush Intercontinental Airport (KIAH) in Houston and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International airport (KATL)—the world’s busiest airport. 

While the research projects focus on a handful of specific airports, the results will help to guide the future development of hydrogen hubs around the world, according to Airbus. These proactive studies “mark a significant milestone in our pursuit of low-carbon aviation,” said Karine Guenan, head of ecosystem activities for Airbus’s ZeroE program, which aims to bring a 200-seat hydrogen-powered airliner with a 2,000-nm range into commercial service in 2035. 

For the research it is conducting at KATL, Airbus has partnered with Delta Air Lines—whose main hub is located at the airport—and hydrogen fuel specialist Plug Power. The team has already begun preliminary work to define the infrastructure requirements for a hydrogen hub and to determine the operational viability of hydrogen operations at KATL. They expect to complete the study at the end of 2026.

“Hartsfield-Jackson has long been a leader in the commercial aviation industry, and it only makes sense that we help lead this effort,” said Michael Smith, senior deputy general manager of administration at the airport. “If hydrogen proves to be a viable alternative, ATL will investigate options to update infrastructure needs in order to implement the new technology.”

Delta Air Lines is already a partner in Airbus’s ZeroE program. As part of an agreement signed in 2022, the airline is helping to identify fleet and network expectations and the operational and infrastructure requirements for hydrogen-powered airliners. 

Plug Power, which is based in New York and operates more than 250 hydrogen refueling stations around the world, recently opened a hydrogen production plant in Woodbine, Georgia that could potentially supply the fuel to KATL. 

“We have a ready-made supply of green hydrogen to support the airport from our new Woodbine, Georgia, production plant, the largest green hydrogen plant in the U.S.,” said Plug CEO Andy Marsh. (The term “green” hydrogen refers to hydrogen that is produced sustainably through electrolysis, using renewable electricity to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.)

In addition to hydrogen storage and transportation, Plug Power also offers hydrogen fuel cells for aircraft and ground vehicles. Universal Hydrogen, a company developing hydrogen fuel cell powertrains for aircraft retrofits, has already flown its experimental Dash 8 twin turboprop using Plug Power’s ProGen family of fuel cells.

Meanwhile, Houston Airports and the Center for Houston’s Future in Texas have signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus to explore the possibility of a hydrogen hub at KIAH as part of broader plans to reduce the airport’s carbon footprint. 

This study will examine “the opportunities and, if any, barriers to the hydrogen supply up to the airport, the infrastructure and equipment development,” Guenan explained, adding that the team will look into other potential uses for hydrogen at airports. For example, ground vehicles and other ground support equipment could be converted to hydrogen power. Hydrogen could also be used for heating at airport facilities, according to Airbus. 

“With Houston’s role as the world’s energy capital, our record of energy innovation, and desire to lead in the business of low-carbon energy, Houston is the perfect place to develop our airports as North American clean hydrogen pioneers,” said Brett Perlman, president and CEO of the Center for Houston’s Future. 

Airbus and its partners in Houston expect to complete the KIAH study in March 2025. 

ZeroAvia Joins Canadian ‘Hydrogen Hub’ Studies

To explore possible hydrogen hubs at airports in Canada, Airbus enlisted the country’s three busiest airports—Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (CYUL), Toronto Pearson International Airport (CYYZ), and Vancouver International Airport (CYVR)—along with hydrogen propulsion specialist ZeroAvia for a large-scale feasibility study. 

Airbus signed memoranda of understanding with those three airports as well as ZeroAvia during the International Aerospace Innovation Forum in Montréal on May 21. This marks the first time that Airbus has formally partnered with another manufacturer of hydrogen propulsion systems for aircraft, according to Guenan. Airbus also invested in ZeroAvia last year. 

“We are bringing together Canada’s largest airports, the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer, and the leading innovator in decarbonised propulsion technology, in order to progress the transition to hydrogen aviation,” said ZeroAvia founder and CEO Val Miftakhov. “ZeroAvia flight testing demonstrates that hydrogen-powered commercial aviation is a prospect ahead of 2030, so we need to start working hard to prepare for the hydrogen infrastructure needed to support the aviation industry and airports as they step into a new golden age of clean flight.”

With its abundance of natural resources, “Canada has great potential for hydrogen production from renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric power,” Guenan said. “These first Canadian hydrogen partnerships enable us to cover the country from coast to coast.”

Last week, Airbus announced is leading a European Union-backed project called Ground Operations of Liquid Hydrogen Aircraft to demonstrate how handling and refueling technologies can be developed for airport operations. The work also involves hydrogen propulsion pioneer H2Fly and eight other partners.

Textron eAviation’s Nexus eVTOL Aircraft Could Fly in 2025

Category:News Tags : #aviation #businessaviation #innovation #oem

The company’s Nuuva cargo drone is approaching its first flights, too

The Nexus eVTOL aircraft is coming together at Textron eAviation’s Wichita headquarters as the company prepares to begin flight testing its hybrid-electric Nuuva V300 cargo drone.

Having certified the world’s first all-electric trainer airplane, the Velis Electro, the Textron Inc. business unit is working to solidify its foothold in the electric aviation industry, building on the company’s decades of experience in aircraft development and manufacturing.

Textron Inc. launched the eAviation business unit in 2022, the same year it acquired Pipistrel, the European aircraft manufacturer behind the Velis Electro. Shortly afterward, the eAviation unit took over the Nexus program from Textron’s Bell subsidiary, which had been working on plans for the eVTOL air taxi since 2019. Following a rocky start to the Nexus program under Bell, Textron’s eAviation subsidiary has hit the ground running and aims to begin flight testing in 2025.

“We really have been focused on various aspects of engineering it over the past two years and validating that engineering, and we’ve moved into the build process,” Textron eAviation president and CEO Kriya Shortt told reporters in a briefing at the company’s headquarters on May 1. “This is a pivotal year for us because pieces are starting to come together,” she said, adding that the team is in the process of mating the aircraft’s wing with the fuselage.

The Nexus is an all-electric, piloted eVTOL aircraft with room for three or four passengers. It is designed to fly around 100 nautical miles on a single charge with a cruise speed of 120 knots. Textron eAviation sees the Nexus working for a variety of use cases, including urban air mobility, emergency medical services, humanitarian aid, law enforcement, and special missions.

While Textron eAviation is overseeing the development work, the Nexus project represents a collaborative effort across the various business units of Textron Inc. “We lean into Bell for their tiltrotor technology, we lean into McCauley for its propeller technology, [and] we lean into Pipistrel for its battery technology,” Shortt said. “The aircraft is being built with our engineering, but the piece-part components are largely done through a collaboration with Textron Aviation,” she added. “We send our materials over and then Textron Aviation’s people are able to build the parts for us.”

NIAR Breaks Ground on eVTOL Testing Facility 

Flight testing with the Nexus prototype is expected to begin in early 2025 and will take place at a flight test facility that Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) is building near McConnell Air Force Base in southern Wichita.

NIAR, which has recently participated in battery drop tests with electric aircraft developers such as Archer Aviation and Beta Technologies, announced on May 6 that it broke ground on a new flight test facility specifically dedicated to eVTOL aircraft. The new facility will include ground-based test rigs as well as a “hover ramp,” Shortt explained.

“It’s a controlled environment where our team will be able to validate the performance of the aircraft. They’ll be able to replicate a flight mode by the way that the ramp is built without wheels ever leaving the ground,” Shortt said. Once the team is satisfied with the hover ramp test results, it will move on to tethered hover flights.

Textron eAviation is also in the process of building a ground control station for the Nexus at a hangar in Wichita, which will enable remotely piloted flight testing of the fully fly-by-wire aircraft. This is purely for testing purposes, Shortt explained. “Even though it’s envisioned to be piloted, when we start flying it we will fly it in an unmanned configuration.”

Nuuva Prototype Slated To Fly This Year

While Textron eAviation prepares to begin flight testing the Nexus prototype in 2025, the company’s Pipistrel subsidiary is preparing to fly its first prototype of the Nuuva V300 cargo drone even sooner. The Pipistrel team is now assembling the first Nuuva V300 prototype in Gorizia, Italy, and the aircraft is on track to make its first test flight in the second half of this year, Shortt said.

The Nuuva V300 is a hybrid-electric, ultra-long-range eVTOL aircraft designed to carry around 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of cargo up to 300 kilometers. Pipistrel announced the Nuuva program in 2020 and announced that Honeywell would supply various systems, including its compact fly-by-wire flight controls and satcom system. Honeywell also supplies its Small UAV satcom system for Pipistrel’s Surveyor fixed-wing surveillance drone, which is already on the market.

Shortt said Textron is not yet ready to reveal an anticipated timeline for certification and service entry of the Nuuva V300 aircraft, and it is not taking orders from customers at this time.

When the Nuuva V300 enters service, it will meet the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s SAIL IV (specific assurance and integrity) requirements for medium-risk uncrewed aircraft systems, meaning that it’s permitted to fly over populated areas without a formal type certificate. Operators in Europe would be required to obtain their own operational authorization from EASA after the regulator approves the aircraft separately via the issuance of a design verification report.

Eventually, Textron aims to progress to the more advanced SAIL VI operations, “which would be fully integrated into the airspace and operating with detect-and-avoid capabilities,” Shortt said. For SAIL VI operations, the aircraft will need to go through a formal type certification process under EASA’s Part 21 rules.

In addition to the V300, Textron intends to produce a smaller but otherwise nearly identical version called the V20. With a cargo capacity of about 20 kilograms (44 pounds), the V20 is intended for short light courier, last-mile delivery services.