While Boeing grapples with building planes that fly without issues, Airbus is devoting resources to achieving zero-emissions flight. In addition to investing in hydrogen propulsion developer ZeroAvia and setting up a $200 million fund to help meet Qantas’ goal of using at least 10% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2030, Airbus is developing its own megawatt-class fuel cell engine.
And recently, it successfully completed a test of its Iron Pod system. Iron Pod is designed for aircraft that run on electric motors powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology. Two previous tests were also successful, but the latest one marked the first time the complete system was operational at 1.2 megawatts – the target power level for the company’s A380 demonstrator.
“It was a huge moment for us because the architecture and design principles of the system are the same as those that we will see in the final design,” said ZEROe project head of testing and demonstration Mathias Andriamisaina.
Testing of the Iron Pod system will continue through 2026. If all goes well, the company’s goal is to have hydrogen-powered aircraft flying by 2035. That would be a tremendous technological achievement. Best of luck to Airbus.
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