Airbus postpones development of new hydrogen aircraft

Airbus said on Friday it is delaying plans to develop a hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft by the middle of next decade, citing slower than expected developments in technology. The delay marks a setback to the European aerospace group's ambitions to pioneer the adoption of hydrogen fuel as aviation strives to curtail emissions, a goal strongly championed by CEO Guillaume Faury since it was first introduced five years ago. Airbus did not give a new timeline for the project, but the Force Ouvriere union said that staff had been told earlier this week that the technology was running five to 10 years behind the pace needed to support the original 2035 target. The delay was first reported by French news agency AFP. "Hydrogen has the potential to be a transformative energy source for aviation," Airbus said in an emailed statement. "However, we recognise that developing a hydrogen ecosystem - including infrastructure, production, distribution and regulatory frameworks - is a huge challenge requiring global collaboration and investment." Airbus officials have acknowledged the plan to produce a hydrogen-powered plane - most likely a turboprop - for 100 people was only ever expected to make a marginal contribution to the sector's goal to reach net zero emissions by 2050, but argued it would pave the way for greater adoption in future.<br/>