Fuel Cell Aircraft Technology Takes Flight

A new European aircraft design has made history by taking to the skies in the world’s first physical demonstration of piloted fuel cell aircraft technology.  During the flight, the aircraft produced zero in the way of CO2 emissions, according to its developers.

The Antares DLR-42 is the product of four organisations – DLR (German Aerospace Centre), Serenergy, BASF Fuel Cells and Lange Aviation.

“We have improved the performance capabilities and efficiency of the fuel cell to such an extent that a piloted aircraft is now able to take off using it”, DLR’s Johann-Dietrich Woerner explained.  “This enables us to demonstrate the true potential of this technology, also and perhaps specifically for applications in the aerospace sector,"

Hydrogen to Electricity

The technology incorporated into the Antares works by transferring hydrogen into electricity.  This takes place in a reaction involving the air – a process that means the combustion associated with normal jet engines does not feature here.   According to its developers, the new aircraft is capable of covering distances up to 465 miles, and can spend up to five hours aloft.

Apart from electrical energy, the only other product created from the reaction that provides the Antares’ power is water. 

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology

On this basis – and so long as renewable energy sources are drawn upon to create the hydrogen fuel cell technology – the aircraft is 100 per cent carbon emission-free.  In other words, it produces no carbon footprint whatsoever.

“Although the fuel cell may still be a long way from becoming the primary energy source for the propulsion of commercial aircraft, it does already constitute an interesting and important alternative to existing energy systems as a form of reliable on-board power supply”, DLR stated.

Initial worries over how stable a platform in flight the aircraft would be (Its hydrogen is carried in external pods) have proved unfounded, with the Antares being to fly at up to 170 kilometres an hour.  While it can draw on a maximum of 25 kilowatts of electricity, in practice, the aircraft would need barely half of this when cruising in one direction.

“With our successful first flight, we have verified the feasibility of fuel-cell powered flight and our next steps will focus on improving efficiency levels and on extending the service life of these systems”, added Josef Kallio, Antares Project Manager at the DRL’s Institute for Technical Thermodynamics. 

Antares image provided by and copyright of DLR