We are really happy to share the mock-up of one of our Britten Norman Islander aircraft converted to Hydrogen power. While we haven't finished our business case for the conversion yet, our CEO Chris has spend the last 2 weeks in the US and Europe validating low/zero emission forms of transport. We are grateful for the teams from Britten Norman and Cranfield Aerospace for spending time to work through the specifications and design of the Islander Aircraft. It's also great to see a mock-up of the same aircraft in Air New Zealand colours. If we go ahead with the conversion, we may only be the second operator in New Zealand, following the lead of our national carrier, which has reportedly signed a Letter Of Intent for a significant number of conversion kits for Islander aircraft. If the remainder of the development program stays on time, then we should be able to see those aircraft on the routes to Great Barrier Island and Waiheke from 2026/2027. In the meantime, we have upgraded the avionics equipment in our aircraft to e.g. make the conversion process to zero-emission fuels easier. We are really grateful for the support of our customers, who enable us to continue to work on bringing low/zero carbon aviation to the Hauraki Gulf.
Source : Island Aviation Facebook page
Liquid Hydrogen has a lower ignition point and obviously more flammable than petroleum or batteries. How is this mitigated?
ReplyDeleteIt's not Liquid, (you lose so much hydrogen to evaporative cooling in trying to keep everything cold) it's a compressed gas usually at @ 15000 PSI +
DeleteGreat, so leaks are almost guaranteed! -Which goes back to my original question. Apart from the explosive factor, how about Hydrogen Embrittlement to the rest of the plane from the leaks?
DeleteThe tanks are Carbon/Kevlar with a wall thickness @30mm or so, Designed to vent in a certain way if they fail, they don't explode. Hydrogen disperses very quickly.........most of the people on the Hindenburg survived. The piping is either plastic lined, high grade stainless or a special nickel alloy. Remember Toyota has figured all of this out already with the Fuel cell cars and trucks. It comes down to weight and endurance.
DeleteIf you ever see an Air Nz islander flying I will eat my hat
ReplyDeleteGreen washing at it's finest. What interest has Air New Zealand really got with BN Islanders?
ReplyDeleteProbably more realistic than an electric passenger aircraft in NZ.
DeleteThe tech for batteries is improving all the time, and that is all that is needed, no new infrastructure required including power stations to make up for the massive energy losses of making and storing Hydrogen.
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