The mammoth Airbus A380s are heading towards retirement after the Franco-German house interrupted their production in 2021, however we will see them for many years still flying the skies around the world from the top of their tonnage, but to keep them company it will also be an unprecedented prototype. It is called ZEROe Demonstratorbecause such are the emissions that this modified A380 will produce (at the end of the journey), a real laboratory with wings that will mount newly developed engines and four liquid hydrogen tanks. In addition to an ad hoc system that will distribute the hydrogen stored in the hold.
The first of the three prototypes shown by Airbus will not be entirely green, initially the two new engines will be added between the rear doors and the second floor, and will therefore be auxiliaries to be activated for flight tests. We won’t have to wait that long, the manufacturer talks about the 2026 for the first tests and the ultimate goal of bringing commercial hydrogen aircraft to market by 2035. It may seem like a long time but for the sector it is not at all, in fact we must consider all the unknowns at stake for such a vehicle and for the most important transition that the Air Force has ever faced.
Probably the first hydrogen aircraft will not have the appearance of the A380, now “dated”, in any case the commitment of the aviation world is to halve CO2 emissions by 2050, which would mean significantly reducing the 2.8% of total global emissions weighing on their heads. The efforts on hydrogen will not be enough, Airbus and many others are committed to finding more sustainable solutions such as pure electricity and SAF (sustainable aviation fuel) fuel, i.e. made with waste oils, biological materials and organic residues.
