Fuel Cells, July 21 2009 (The Hydrogen Journal)
– In another first for Hamburg’s hydrogen fuel cell industry, the first piloted aircraft able to take off just using fuel cell power, has been demonstrated at Hamburg airport on July 7 2009.
The aircraft, Antares DLR-H2, was developed by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR).
The propulsion system was developed by DLR Institute for Technical Thermodynamics (Institut für Technische Thermodynamik – Stuttgart) in collaboration with its project partners, Lange Aviation, BASF Fuel Cells and Serenergy (Denmark)
To date, fuel cells have been tested on aircraft to provide auxiliary power (eg cabin lighting), and they have been used to fly unmmaned aerial vehicles (UAVs), but this is the first manned aircraft just using fuel cell power for main propulsion and take-off.
“We have improved the performance capabilities and efficiency of the fuel cell to such an extent that a piloted aircraft is now able to take off using it,” stated Prof. Dr-Ing Johann-Dietrich Wörner, Chairman of the Executive Board at DLR.
The aircraft has a wing span of 20m, and was constructed by Lange Aviation. It has a cruising range of 750km, or flying time of 5 hours.
The fuel cell is hung under the left wing and the hydrogen tank under the right wing – the hydrogen tank has a capacity of either 2 or 4.9kg.
The total additional weight under the aircraft wings is 100kg – the wings had to be made out of new materials to ensure that it could be safely carried.
The aircraft can fly at up to 300 km/h without any wing flutter, although the current propulsion system only allows 170 km/h speeds.
The fuel cell can provide 25 kW of electrical power, but only needs 10kW to fly in a straight line.
The total efficiency from tank to powertrain (including propeller) is around 44 per cent, compared to 18 to 25 per cent for systems powered by kerosene or diesel.
The fuel cell was developed by DLR Institute for Technical Thermodynamics in collaboration with BASF Fuel Cells (electrolytic membrane and catalysts) and Serenergy A/S (stack subsystem).
In the future, DLR hopes to improve efficiency, extend service life, and optimise cooling systems, fuel cell architecture and components. “”At this stage, we have only tapped into a fraction of the performance capabilities of this technology for aerospace applications,” says Project Manager Dr-Ing. Josef Kallo.
DLR is aiming to demonstrate that fuel cells could be a reliable source of on-board power for commercial aircraft.
DLR article
The Hydrogen Journal
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