MTU Aero Engines: hydrogen puts the future at our fingertips

Source: wearefinn.com

As the industry moves toward emission-free aviation, MTU Aero Engines has welcomed ZEROe concepts from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

“Hydrogen is a highly attractive future option for us as an engine producer as well,” said MTU Chief Operating Officer Lars Wagner, “It should be used as a fuel right away.”

Hydrogen offers different options for emissions reductions

Germany’s leading engine manufacturer sees three possible uses for hydrogen: converted to sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), hydrogen could be dropped into existing aircraft and engines immediately. “Direct combustion of liquid hydrogen in gas turbines is possible in technical terms, too,” said Dr Stefan Weber, Senior Vice President Engineering and Technology at MTU in Munich, highlighting the second possible use.

This would require some adjustments in the engine, especially the combustion chamber, which Weber thinks could be accomplished in just a few years. By contrast, much larger challenges await for infrastructure and aircraft manufacturers, as they will have to find ways to provide and transport the liquid hydrogen and then carry it along inside appropriate tanks inside the aircraft.

Converting hydrogen to electricity using fuel cells

In the long term, MTU is relying on a third option for using hydrogen: converting it into electricity by means of a fuel cell. This application is also described by the MTU experts in their Technology Roadmap for achieving emissions-free flight. This technology promises almost zero emissions, but it is still in the early stages of development in aircraft propulsion applications. “We call our fuel cell concept the flying fuel cell. We have an established team of experts working on it in Munich,” explained Weber.

More information on the topic and the entire article can be found by clicking on following link: wearefinn.com