Tuesday 2 February 2016

EasyJet to trial hybrid hydrogen powered plane



I realise this news is about aviation but I have decided to share it in order to raise awareness of the increasing use of  zero emission hydrogen technology which is now going to be used on aircraft.

EasyJet is a low-cost airline carrier based at London's Luton Airport in Britain. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on over 700 routes in 32 countries. Their fleet size is 221 aircraft and they have 134 destinations. The company was first founded in 1995.
EasyJet will be the first airline company to operate hydrogen aircraft after they revealed their plans in the following press release.



As part of its strategy of reducing its passengers' carbon footprint easyJet, Europe’s leading airline, has unveiled plans for a revolutionary zero emissions hydrogen fuel system for its aircraft which could save around 50,000 tonnes of fuel and the associated CO2 emissions per year.

easyJet is committed to reducing its passengers' carbon footprint and has set new targets for 2020 which will see a reduction of 7% over the next five years compared to ‎it‎s emissions today, which are 81.05 grams CO2 per passenger kilometre.

This follows a decrease of 28% over the last 15 years. easyJet invests in the latest technology, operates efficiently and fills most of its seats which means that an easyJet passenger's carbon footprint is 22% less than a passenger on a traditional airline, flying the same aircraft on the same route. ‎‎

For the hybrid plane concept the airline has taken inspiration from students at Cranfield University, a global leader in education and research in technology and management, who were asked to develop ideas for what air travel might look like in twenty years’ time, as part of a competition to celebrate easyJet’s 20th birthday in November 2015.

easyJet will now work with its industry partners and suppliers to apply the cutting edge technology much sooner with a trial set to take place later this year.

The hybrid plane concept utilises a hydrogen fuel cell stowed in the aircraft's hold. This innovative zero-emissions system allows energy to be captured as the aircraft brakes on landing and is used to charge the system’s lightweight batteries when the aircraft is on the ground (much like the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) found in Formula 1 cars). 

The energy can then be used by the aircraft – for example when taxiing - without needing to use their jet engines.  Due to the high frequency and short sector lengths of easyJet’s operations, around 4% of the airline’s total fuel consumed annually is used when the airline’s aircraft are taxiing.  easyJet’s aircraft average 20 minutes of taxi time per flight – the equivalent of around four million miles a year – akin to travelling to the moon and back eight times.

Each aircraft would have motors in their main wheels and electronics and system controllers would give pilots total control of the aircraft’s speed, direction and braking during taxi operations. The system would therefore reduce, if not remove altogether, the need for tugs to manoeuvre aircraft in and out of stands, delivering more efficient turnaround times and increased on time performance.

The only waste product is fresh clean water which could be used to refill the aircraft’s water system throughout the flight. 

The concept has been developed by easyJet’s award winning engineering director Ian Davies and his team working with some of the ideas from students combined with easyJet’s own conceptual thinking.

Head of Engineering, easyJet, Ian Davies, commented:

“At easyJet, we are continuing to apply the use of new digital and engineering technologies across the airline.

“The hybrid plane concept we are announcing today is both a vision of the future and a challenge to our partners and suppliers to continue to push the boundaries towards reducing our carbon emissions.

“It’s also a great example of the benefits of our strategic relationship with Cranfield University.”

Dr. Craig Lawson, Lecturer, Centre for Aeronautics, Cranfield University, added:

“We are delighted to be working on this project with easyJet on what is a real-world example of how we can innovate together.

“Cranfield is a specialist postgraduate university providing advanced, practical education and research. We are recognised internationally as meeting the needs of business, governments and wider society.

“Our students have showcased some exciting ideas for the 2035 vision of the airline industry through The Future of Flight competition, presenting environmental solutions, operational improvements and ideas to enhance the customer experience. We’re looking forward to developing this concept further.”

easyJet and Cranfield University signed a three year strategic partnership agreement last year to share innovation and knowledge. 

As part of easyJet’s 20th birthday activities, students at Cranfield University were asked to compete in four categories; cabin design, aircraft design, airport experience and in-flight experience.

Judges at easyJet and Cranfield received a raft of pioneering advances from the aerospace students.  Further innovative ideas included dynamic wings which change shape in flight, a super-efficient 'shark skin' coating to reduce surface drag and, in the cabin, ultra-light weight seats carbon fibre seats incorporating wireless phone and tablet charging panels.

easyJet operates a fleet of over 240 Airbus A319s and A320s with an average age of just 6 years old. The airline will start taking delivery of A320neo aircraft from June 2017 and the new planes will be around 13% - 15% more fuel efficient than the planes they are replacing.

I'm not really into airplanes but I do find it interesting how an airline company like EasyJet has invested in the next level of technology to help combat Climate Change.

Currently with the bus services in London there will be a small increase of hydrogen buses as TFL have invested in having two hydrogen single deck buses manufactured by Van Hool. The only route which has hydrogen buses in London is Route RV1 which goes from Tower Gateway to Covent Garden via the South Bank, including Waterloo.

So good job for EasyJet and hopefully in the near future we may see other airline companies taking an interest in using hydrogen technology for their fleet of airplanes.

Here is a related video of the Hydrogen bus on route RV1.


London Buses Route RV1
Operated by Tower Transit (LI Garage)
Hydrogen powered VDL SB200/Wright Pulsar
WSH62996 LJ13JWP
filmed on 23rd October 2015

If you think we should be moving forward to having more hydrogen buses instead of the 3 door, 2 staircase hybrid bus known as the Wrightbus New Routemaster, then feel free to post your view in the comments section below.

Finally, as always, you can follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest and Google Plus for all the latest news and updates at: @CLondoner92

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