Against a backdrop increasing CO2 emissions and intense environmental scrutiny, a highly significant aviation industry first recently took place. In the skies above Ocaña airport near Madrid, the world’s first manned fuel cell powered flights have been achieved. In the culmination of a multi-year programme led and funded by Boeing; a light aircraft was repeatedly flown for over 20 miles using only an Intelligent Energy fuel cell power system to power the propulsion system.
A two-seat Dimona motor-glider with a 16.3 meter (53.5 foot) wingspan was used as the airframe. Built by Diamond Aircraft Industries of Austria, it was modified by BR&TE (Boeing Research & Technology Europe, a part of Boeing Phantom Works) to include a PEM fuel cell system, supplied and developed by Intelligent Energy, configured as a hybrid with lithium-ion batteries to power an electric motor coupled to a conventional propeller.
Boeing announced details of the flights at a media event in Madrid on the 3rd of April. The event was attended by senior Boeing representatives Matt Ganz (President, Phantom Works Advanced Technologies) and John Tracy (CTO, Boeing Corporation) as well as Intelligent Energy Chief Technology Officer Phil Mitchell.
Three test flights took place in February and March from Ocaña, airport. During the flights, the experimental airplane climbed to an altitude of 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) above sea level using a combination of battery power and power generated by the fuel cell system. Then after reaching cruise altitude and disconnecting the batteries, the pilot flew straight and level at a cruising speed of 62 mph (100 kilometres per hour) for approximately 20 minutes on power solely generated by the fuel cells.
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While the aircraft’s handling characteristics were not affected by the change in its power source, its pilot Cecilio Barberan, did notice one big operational difference; the cockpit was unusually quiet, with only the sounds generated by the airframe and the propeller.
It is unlikely that fuel cells will become primary power for large airliners, but the low noise levels of the fuel cell aircraft point the way to how this technology will most probably first be realised in a commercial context; UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). UAVs would take advantage of the fuel cell’s high efficiencies, zero CO2 emission count, very low noise levels and insignificant infrared (IR) signature for surveillance flights. The fuel cell’s operating characteristics offering added value over existing power technologies for such an application.
Many believe that the use of fuel cells in commercial airliners is inevitable, but not to power propulsion, rather as on-board auxiliary power units. Here we will see fuel cell power systems possibly distributed around the aircraft, powering a number of different functions (heating, lighting, air conditioning etc.) and doing so in a more efficient way that produces significantly reduced amounts of CO2.
The world’s first manned fuel cell powered flight is a tremendous achievement for Intelligent Energy, but it is also an important milestone in the history of fuel cell development and in the world of aviation, where it represents a significant advance in its own right but also points the way to a cleaner aviation future.