First commercial hydrogen flights could come ""as early as 2028"", researchers suggest

The first commercial hydrogen flights could come as early as 2028, according to studies from the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. Chalmer's competence centre for hydrogen research TechForH2 also claimed all air travel within a 1,200km in Sweden could be made with hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2045. ""If everything falls into place, the commercialisation of hydrogen flight can go really fast now,"" said Chalmers University professor and director of TechForH2 Tomas Grönstedt. ""As early as 2028, the first commercial hydrogen flights in Sweden could be in the air."" With novel heat exchanger technology currently in development, researchers believe the range hydrogen aircraft could reach may be greater than current estimates. Heat exchangers are a vital part of hydrogen aviation, and they are a key part of the technological advancements taking place. To keep the fuel systems lightweight, the hydrogen needs to be in liquid form. This means that the hydrogen is kept supercool in the aircraft. By recovering heat from the hot exhausts of the jet engines, and by cooling the engines in strategic locations they become more efficient. To transfer the heat between the supercool hydrogen and the engine, novel types of heat exchangers are needed. Researchers at Chalmers have been working for several years to develop a completely new type of heat exchanger. The technology, which is now patent pending by partner GKN Aerospace, takes advantage of hydrogen's low storage temperature to cool engine parts, and then uses waste heat from the exhaust gases to preheat the fuel several hundred degrees before it is injected into the combustion chamber.