Fuel-cell-converted aircraft could replace 20% of turboprop market: report

A new report concludes that fuel-cell powered ATR and De Havilland Canada turboprops could have enough range to cover most typical turboprop routes – but only when carrying far fewer passengers. For that reason, airlines using such modified turboprops – the designs for which remain unproven and in development – would need to operate many more flights to fill the same market demand, according to the report from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). Released on 2 August, ICCT’s study also predicts that hydrogen fueling costs will decline substantially in the coming decades. It says fuel cells using liquid hydrogen – which must be kept colder than -253°C (-423°F), posing another challenge – would provide more range than those using hydrogen gas. “A fossil-fuelled turboprop aircraft retrofitted with hydrogen storage and fuel-cell propulsion is more energy efficient and less carbon intensive, but more expensive to fuel,” says ICCT, which has offices in Washington, DC. “It would have lower payload and range capabilities but would reduce [greenhouse gas] emissions by 88%.” A handful of companies are working to bring hydrogen-powered aircraft to market, describing hydrogen – which emits water when converted to energy – as the aviation’s industry’s carbon-cutting solution. Engines can be made to burn hydrogen as fuel, or fuel cells can use hydrogen to produce electricity to power motors. Players include US firm ZeroAvia, which is developing fuel-cell propulsion systems for aircraft and has flight-tested its system using a modified Dornier 228. Another, Universal Hydrogen, has test flown a Dash 8 powered partly by fuel cells and is also developing the modification for ATRs. In the UK, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions is developing a fuel-cell conversion for a Britten-Norman BN2 Islander. Despite optimism, large technical, practical and infrastructure challenges remain. <br/>