A futuristic passenger plane powered by liquid hydrogen, designed in collaboration with BMW and a major Formula 1 engineering company, has been presented by the Swiss start-up Sirius Aviation, which promises a flight range of close to 2,000 km without refueling. .
Sirius has designed two versions of the electric vertical take-off and landing (e-VTOL) aircraft: the three-seat “Business Jet” and the five-seat “Millennium Jet”, with an announced range of 1,800 km and 1,045 km. respectively.
The first flights are planned for 2025, the same year that several aviation companies have committed to starting commercial hydrogen-powered flights on regional aircraft capable of carrying between 15 and 20 passengers, and the start-up plans to begin commercial operations in the European Union and/or America from 2030.
In addition to BMW Designworks, which has several VTOL designs under its belt, Formula 1 engineering company Sauber Group has also collaborated on the Sirius Jet.
No details have been given about the size of the fuel cell, although Sirius has said it will make the hydrogen propulsion system public shortly.
Liquid hydrogen was most likely chosen for the aircraft design because it requires much less space than gaseous hydrogen.
Hydrogen compressed at 350 or 750 bars contains 0.8 kWh or 1.1 kWh of energy per liter, respectively. Liquefaction increases the volumetric energy density to more than 2.3 kWh/liter.
This means that a fuel tank with liquid hydrogen would contain between two and three times more energy, and therefore range, than a tank of similar size with compressed H2.
This is a significantly higher cost, especially since hydrogen is expensive compared to electric power from batteries, due to liquefaction costs.
However, cost might not be a big concern for potential users, as the aircraft appears to be aimed at private jet users, who are not known for their low costs.
Sirius Aviation is not the only company studying hydrogen to decarbonize flight: Airbus, the leading designer of commercial aircraft, hopes to have the first of its ZeroE liquid hydrogen fuel cell planes in the air in 2035, while Easyjet has partnered with Rolls-Royce to develop an H2-powered jet engine.
ZeroAvia and Universal Hydrogen are also testing regional aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
More information: siriusjet.com
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2024-01-14 16:24:08
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