For aircraft manufacturer Airbus is leading a project that aims to study the traces left by planes powered by hydrogen in the air during the flight. The project Blue Condorcarried out through the subsidiary UpNext, tries to discover which gases are generated during the movement, if there is a difference in relation to the current main fuel, the keroseneand how much this impacts the environment.
In progress since the end of 2020, Blue Condor is in its third phase.
The first phase consisted of finding all the technological components and a flying platform that could be adapted with a hydrogen system and a hydrogen combustion engine. Furthermore, it was necessary to structure a trail chase operation with a specific aircraft to transport all the necessary instrumentation.
The second phase of the project was dedicated to ground and flight testing, carried out until November 2022, to ensure that the hydrogen system and hydrogen combustion engine functioned safely and performed as required. Hydrogen was the main fuel in all.
The third and most important phase is when data is being collected. The Blue Condor plane will be towed by a Grob Egrett aircraft at an altitude of 33,000 feet (about 10,000 meters) and then released. This “pursuit” aircraft will follow behind, using sensors to collect and analyze atmospheric and contrail data. There is no preliminary data yet.
According to José Días Vides, the engineer responsible for the project, Blue Condor was the fastest way found to understand the formation of traces left by the combustion of hydrogen. “What would be the implications of this new energy path? Everything will be measured and recorded by instruments to detect what is coming out of the aircraft’s exhaust”, he summarizes.
Over the next year, those responsible hope to carry out more measurements and obtain complete data on the size and concentration of the ice crystals formed, the temperature and humidity of the air in the environment, and also on what else comes out of the engine exhaust, which particles may be flying around and helping to form contrails.
Featured fuel
Hydrogen is seen as one of the main sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. The main by-product of burning hydrogen is water, but nitrous oxides can also be generated, which requires attention.
Hydrogen is mainly thought of as an alternative for heavy industriessuch as aviation, navigation, steelmaking and others with high energy demands. It is also seen as a way of storing energy generated by intermittent sources such as solar and wind — the electricity generated by these forms would be used to produce it and, thus, it would be possible to guarantee supply in times without sun or wind.
Fuel can be classified into colors according to its origin. For example, hydrogen that comes from other renewable sources is green; what is produced from natural gas (a fossil fuel) is gray or blue, depending on whether the process captured CO2; the one taken directly from nature is white; those produced with nuclear energy are pink, if using electrical energy, and purple, if using thermal energy.
For aviation, hydrogen could be great in terms of performance. “It is possible to extract three times more energy per kilogram than from conventional kerosene, or also from SAF”, reports Vides, referring to a type of biofuel (sustainable aviation fuel).
However, if it brings more energy, hydrogen also brings practical challenges. Today, kerosene or SAF is stored in tanks on the wings of planes, which does not work for hydrogen. Therefore, it would be necessary to redesign the aircraft to be able to use it.
“Hydrogen is a very, very attractive alternative energy source. But, technologically, we need to develop a new way of storing fuel inside our aircraft to be able to use it efficiently and transport it from one place to another”, comments Vides.
With this issue, it would also be necessary to increase hydrogen production around the world to guarantee supply for aviation and other industries, which would regulate the price and create an economically viable ecosystem for exploration. So, although it is an important part of Airbus' sustainability program, fuel is just one of the alternatives — SAF is another well-regarded one.
According to Vides, the manufacturer is already thinking about developing hydrogen-powered planes — there are three models being designed, scheduled to be launched between 2030 and 2035. In turn, SAF is already used in commercial aviation, alone or combined with kerosene, although in very small scale.
Not Brazil, the regulatory framework for the SAF was approved in Congress and sanctioned, in “future fuel” billwhile the Low Carbon Emission Hydrogen Development Program is in the Senate, after approval in the Chamber.
Other projects
In addition to Blue Condor, UpNext has two other projects that aim to develop technology to eliminate Airbus' carbon emissions. One is Ascend, which looks at the use of superconductivity in electric motors for use in future hydrogen aircraft as a way to extract and transmit more energy.
The other is aimed at increasing wing performance, with technologies being tested to optimize dynamics, and which are suitable for any form of propulsion and aircraft configuration. With the better performance of the wings, a reduction in CO2 emissions is expected.
