Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - 16

Engineering an
Aircraft Hydrogen Powertrain
Z
eroAvia's journey into the
world of the hydrogen powertrain
began with a mission to
decarbonize one of the most
challenging sectors in existence due to
the complexities in recreating the synthesis
of chain reactions that aircraft
require to fly securely with hydrogen
fueling. Currently, the balance of engine-triggered
events that power, heat,
pressurize, and so forth is not necessarily
the result of the high-efficiency performance
of fossil fuels. Yet, aircraft
use engine inefficiencies to fill other
needs such as thermal management.
One of the most significant challenges
in designing an effective hydrogen
powertrain system is keeping the aircraft
capabilities intact by using efficient
and non-efficient fossil-fuel turbine
engine performance metrics as a
benchmarking tool for peak hydrogen
performance.
As a physicist and pilot (both fixedwing
and helicopter), I started ZeroAvia
because I wanted to work with engineers
to move the needle towards zerocarbon
aviation. To do this, we needed
to target a significant existing segment.
That means relatively larger aircraft (1020
seats) for a relatively long distance
(500 miles). The most practical way to
do this anytime soon is via hydrogen
fuel cells, which are currently about
four-times more energy-dense than the
best available batteries, even with compressed
gas hydrogen storage. Liquid
hydrogen brings about a two to three
times increase in energy density, which
is close to the density of jet fuel. In five
years, ZeroAvia expects liquid hydrogen
storage to become safety-qualified in aircraft,
allowing achievement of 1,000+
mile ranges in even larger aircraft.
Engineering Methodology
Multiple engineering disciplines are
needed to create both the physical hydrogen
powertrain and the avionics
suite that powers the engine. This requires
full awareness of the system's
physical principles throughout the
team, right down to every technician.
ZeroAvia uses a rapid prototyping tech16
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Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021

Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - Intro
Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - Sponsor
Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - Band1
Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - Band2
Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - Cov1
Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - Cov2
Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - 1
Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - 2
Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - 3
Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - 4
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Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - Cov3
Aerospace & Defense Technology - June 2021 - Cov4
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