Despite the corona pandemic, the aircraft manufacturer Airbus is sticking to its plan to bring a hydrogen aircraft to the market at the latest 2035 . “The aim is to implement green flying. And we expect a lot from hydrogen,” said the German boss of the Airbus civil aircraft division, André Walter, of the German press agency in Hamburg. Accordingly, Airbus presented its three possible research platforms for a hydrogen aircraft in the summer despite the Corona crisis.

Also quite At the top of the development list at Airbus are hybrid aircraft, i.e. machines with hydrogen and electric drives. “At the moment we are assuming that it will not be possible to do without combustion engines entirely, especially for medium and long-haul routes,” said the managing director of Airbus Operations GmbH. In larger aircraft, a purely electric drive does not provide enough thrust when taking off. “State of the art is therefore a hybrid.”

Green hydrogen Walter emphasized that it was not just about developing the technology for a hydrogen aircraft. It is also necessary to produce the hydrogen in a green way and to set up an appropriate infrastructure. The hydrogen must be available at airports around the world so that the machines can also be refueled. “There is still a lot of work to be done.”

Airbus Concept ZEROe (8 pictures) The The wing shape of this concept, which is intended for 094 passengers, should offer a lot of space for hydrogen.

(Image: Airbus) (olb) 2035