Der weltweit erste vollelektrische Wasserstoff-Flugzeugmotor könnte Jetturbinen ersetzen
https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/airbus-mtu-fully-electric-hydrogen-engine
Der weltweit erste vollelektrische Wasserstoff-Flugzeugmotor könnte Jetturbinen ersetzen
https://interestingengineering.com/transportation/airbus-mtu-fully-electric-hydrogen-engine
7 Kommentare
One of the world’s largest aeronautics and space companies, Airbus, and leading aircraft engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines have joined forces to develop the world’s first fully electric hydrogen fuel cell aircraft engine.
The deal between the Dutch-based aerospace giant and the German aero engine maker was announced on July 7, 2026. It followed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by both firms at the Paris Air Show in June 2025.
This sounds like the Hindenburg with extra steps. But I didn’t read the article, so idk.
Is it fully electric or hydrogen cell fueled?
Fully electric implies using electric engines, with batteries to power the engines, and perhaps solar power to fill the batteries.
Hydrogen cell fueled is not fully electric, there’s a consumable in the chain.
Well, let’s see. 4x worse volumetric efficiency than traditional fuel, which is fine because space isn’t at a premium on an aircraft. 😏
I’d like to see the economics on how using a sizeable percentage of fuselage volume for cryogenic storage of oxygen and hydrogen factors into things. Plus, I imagine an electric architecture like this would require a lot of batteries as well.
The article describes what sounds like a feasibility study. It does not definitively state that the technology to do this successfully exists or even can exist. Fuel cells are notoriously bulky and heavy for a given power output, and that is bad news in aviation. I suspect that aviation is more likely to survive via synthetic fuels produced on the ground with electricity.
have done several of these studies for a large airframer, it requires an infrastructure and fuel cost that *could* happen, but doesnt currently exist or need to exist. if fuel prices double or triple (either through scarcity, conflict, or incentives), that could make them worth it. for now, SAF is the way of the future