This isn’t the first hydrogen-fueled test aircraft. In 1988, Soviet engineers built and flew a Tupolev model (a Tu-155) with one engine outfitted with a hydrogen fuel cell. However, this aircraft didn’t attempt to cruise on the single engine, making the Dash 8 flight this month the “largest to cruise principally on hydrogen,” according to Paul Eremenko.
Universal Hydrogen’s CEO also noted that hydrogen, thus far, remains the only viable avenue for the aviation industry to rely on in pursuit of compliance with emissions reduction targets from the Paris Climate Agreement. Hydrogen fuel cells emit water vapor and warm air, reducing harmful carbon byproducts to zero, and drastically transforming an industry that accounts for 2.5% of global CO2 emissions. Even so, there are detractors, namely citing safety concerns and effective production capacity for the fuel.
The engine also brings something else to the table that can’t be matched by conventional aviation power. “Once we hit cruise, we throttled back and we flew almost exclusively on the right-hand engine. It was silent,” Alex Kroll added. The quiet operation would reduce noise pollution in historically affected neighborhoods around airports.
The National Institutes of Health have reported that airport-related noise disturbances have been linked directly to lesser academic performance, worse sleep, and potentially even an increase in cardiovascular disease among nearby residents. Eremenko sees a future of commercial use for this technology, with single-aisle jets potentially in routine passenger operations by 2030. The environment would potentially be improved in a multiplicity of ways.
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