Following a three-month feasibility study, Aviation H2 has selected the use of liquid ammonia to turbofan combustion as the best route to carbon-free flight and will soon start modifying turbofan engines to test and prove the concept.
Following a three-month feasibility study, Aviation H2 has selected the use of liquid ammonia to turbofan combustion as the best route to carbon-free flight and will soon start modifying turbofan engines to test and prove the concept.
After launching a capital raise, the company says the results from their studies were very positive. Their research shows that converting a Falcon 50 to Liquid Ammonia Turbofan Combustion is the most efficient and commercially viable avenue to building a hydrogen-powered plane.
The company’s team of engineers say they now have a clear pathway to having Australia’s first hydrogen-fuelled aircraft in the skies by the middle of 2023.
Aviation H2 Director, Dr Helmut Mayer said: “By implementing this power path, Aviation H2 can fly aircraft with hydrogen fuel using significantly less weight than alternative power paths while generating the same amount of power. There are multiple reasons why liquid ammonia was selected. Chiefly its advantages include high gravimetric and volumetric hydrogen density that makes it lighter and easier to transport while providing a greater energy conversion rate. In fact, the stored weight of liquid ammonia energy is substantially lighter than gaseous hydrogen and can be kept at a much lower tank pressure.”
Dr Mayer says this is supported by anhydrous ammonia reaching liquification point quicker, which makes it a lot simpler to store when compared to liquid or gasified hydrogen. Additionally, worldwide transportation and handling of liquid ammonia has been around for many years, making ammonia as a carbon-free fuel even more appealing.