Hydrogen, she says, “has the most energy per unit mass of…well, anything. “It is really our intent in 15 years to have an entry into service of a hydrogen-powered airliner,” says Amanda Simpson, vice president for research and technology at Airbus Americas. It has just unveiled early plans for three “ZEROe” airliners, each using liquid hydrogen to take the place of today’s hydrocarbon-based jet-fuel compounds. This is part of the vision Airbus, the French-based aviation giant, presents as part of its effort against global climate change.Īirbus is now betting heavily on hydrogen as a fuel of the future. That, you know, is because the plane is fueled by liquid hydrogen, cooled to -253 degrees C, which boils off despite the plane’s extensive insulation. One other important thing you notice before you board: The plane is venting vapor, a lot of it, even on a crisp morning. The plane is a big lifting body, with room for you and 200 fellow passengers. The taper of the wings is so gentle that one cannot really say where the fuselage ends and the wings begin. It is a giant V-shaped blended-wing aircraft, vaguely reminiscent of a boomerang. But the Airbus jet at your gate is different. Airports and planes have not changed much since your childhood: Your flight is late as usual. Imagine that it is 2035, and you are flying home to be with family for the holidays.
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