Airbus has revealed designs for detachable hydrogen fuel cell pods that would attach to the underside of planes.
Last year Airbus announced three concepts for the world’s first zero-emission hydrogen powered commercial aircraft - which could enter service by 2035.
Now it has published plans for engine pods that contain a propeller and all the fuel, motors, cooling and engineering needed to provide thrust on long-range flights.
The units are designed to be detachable, so they can can be clipped on and off after a flight to speed up any maintenance that may be required.
“The ‘pod’ configuration is essentially a distributed fuel cell propulsion system that delivers thrust to the aircraft via six propulsors arranged along the wing,” said Matthieu Thomas, ZEROe Aircraft Lead Architect.
“Hydrogen fuel cells have very different design considerations, so we knew we had to come up with a unique approach.”
Glenn Llewellyn, VP of Zero-Emission Aircraft, said: "This ‘pod’ configuration is a great starting point to nurture further inquiry into how we can scale up hydrogen technology to commercial aircraft.
"This is one option, but many more will be conceptualised before we make a final selection, a decision that is expected by 2025."
Hydrogen and air are supplied to the fuel cells to generate electric current. Power electronics convert the current to power the electric motors. Thanks to this energy, the motor shaft rotates, thereby turning the propeller.
Although advanced in its design, the “pod” configuration still requires a lot of work to determine whether it could be a suitable solution.
To date, it remains one of many exciting technology options that Airbus engineers are considering as they work towards launching the ZEROe programme.
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