As the aviation industry strives to reduce its carbon emissions, the race is on to find an alternative way to refuel planes, andhydrogen seems to be one of the first.
To prove its potential, a team from Sables-d’Olonne, France, is building a hydrogen-powered plane, whose goal is to be the first to fly around the world. It is called Climate Impulse.
The team is led by Swiss explorer Bertrand Piccard, who was part of the team Solar Impulse which flew a solar plane around the world between 2015 and 2016. He believes the project could be an important catalyst for the aviation industry.
“Many people say that it is impossible to decarbonize aviation. Climate Impulse is my appeal against defeatism, against skepticism, against all those who say that there are no solutions,” he said. declared Bertrand Piccard. “There are many solutions, but hope will only come if we act.
Of course, switching to hydrogen-powered aviation is not as simple as simply changing the fuel in planes. Among other things, having to keep liquid hydrogen at a temperature close to absolute zero creates its own design challenges. Why did the Climate Impulse team opt for hydrogen as a fuel for the project?
“If you want to be completely decarbonized, you can use solar energy, but it’s not practical for commercial aviation,” Mr. Piccard explained. “If you have bigger planes, you need bigger batteries, and some of your energy will be wasted carrying those heavy batteries. So that’s when it’s more efficient to use hydrogen.
The team’s goal is for Climate Impulse to attempt its world tour in 2028, with testing beginning in 2026.
Watch the video above for a behind-the-scenes look at the Climate Impulse project.