Airbus opening hydrogen fuel research facility in Filton
Airbus say The Zero Emission Development Centre will help them get zero emission passenger planes flying by 2035
Airplane manufacturer Airbus has announced it's opening a special research centre in Filton, looking at how to develop hydrogen fuel.
It will be called the Zero Emission Development Centre (ZEDC) and will be tasked with helping Airbus create passenger planes that give off zero carbon emissions, by 2035.
In a press release the firm says it will also be used to "accelerate UK skills and know-how on hydrogen-propulsion technologies."
Currently aircraft are thought to only produce 2.4 percent of global carbon emissions, which may seem insignificant.
However, only 11 percent of the world's population flies according to data from 2018 and of those people only 1 percent of them (frequent fliers) are thought to account for more than half of that pollution.
For that reason the question of how to reduce emissions from flights is considered very important to tackling climate change.
Airbus says the ZEDC will benefit from £685 million from the UK government pledged over the next three years to support the development of zero carbon aircraft.
“Establishing the ZEDC in the UK expands Airbus’ in-house industrial capabilities to design, develop, test and manufacture cryogenic hydrogen storage tanks and related systems for the ZEROe project across Airbus’ four home countries," Sabine Klauke, Airbus Chief Technical Officer, said.
"This, coupled with our partnership with Aerospace Technology Institute, will allow us to leverage our respective expertise to realise the potential of hydrogen technology to support the decarbonisation of the aviation industry."
Airbus say technology development at the new ZEDC has already started, with other Airbus ZEDC's already existing in Spain, Germany and France.
All Airbus ZEDC's are expected to be ready for full ground testing in 2023 and flight testing in 2026.
"With this new facility, Airbus reaffirms its long-term commitment to remain a major player in Britain’s world-leading aerospace ecosystem, working with the Jet Zero Council to drive forward research in the sector, supporting green jobs and helping the UK meet its ambitious net zero targets," a press release from Airbus reads.
You can find out more about the use of hydrogen in aviation here.