Airbus establishes Zero-Emissions Development Centres for hydrogen tank manufacture

As of June 14, Airbus (Toulouse, France) has decided to concentrate its efforts for metallic hydrogen tanks in a complementary setup by creating Zero-Emission Development Centres (ZEDC) at its sites in Bremen (Germany) and in Nantes (France). The goal of the ZEDC is to achieve cost-competitive cryogenic tank manufacturing to support the successful future market launch of ZEROe (see “Airbus reveals new zero-emission concept aircraft”) and to accelerate the development of hydrogen-propulsion technologies. Airbus says the design and integration of tank structures is crucial to the performance of a future hydrogen aircraft; furthermore, while it is expected that near-term LH₂ tank structures for commercial aircraft applications will be metallic, Airbus notes, the potential performance opportunities associated with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composites are also high.

The technology developments will cover the full product and industrial capabilities from elementary parts, assembly, systems integration and the cryogenic testing of the final liquid hydrogen (LH₂) tank system. The system itself will need to be able to store LH₂ at -250°C (the temperature at which it liquefies) as well as withstand repeated thermal and pressure cycling per aircraft application demands. Both ZEDCs will be fully operational by 2023 to build LH₂ tanks with a first flight test scheduled for 2025.

The ZEDC in Nantes will bring its ability to equally manage a wide range of metallic, composite technologies and integration.

Airbus says it chose its site in Bremen because of its diverse setup and decades of LH₂ experience with its defense and space group, ArianeGroup. The ZEDC in Bremen will initially focus on system installation as well as for the overall cryogenic testing of the tanks. Furthermore, this ZEDC will reportedly benefit from the wider hydrogen research ecosystem such as the Centre for Eco-Efficient Materials and Technologies (ECOMAT) and from further synergies from space and aerospace activities.

Airbus also chose its site in Nantes because of its extensive knowledge in metallic structural technologies related to the center wing box, including the safety-critical center tank for commercial aircraft. The ZEDC in Nantes will bring its ability to equally manage a wide range of metallic, composite technologies and integration as well as its experience in co-design activities on nacelle inlets, radomes and center fuselage complex work packages. The ZEDC will benefit from the Nantes Technocentre skills and capabilities, supported by an innovative local ecosystem such as the IRT Jules Verne.

In line with Northern German regional and the Pays de Loire ambitions, Airbus reports that it will foster cross-industry collaboration to support the overall transition to hydrogen-propulsion technologies, as well as the associated ground-based infrastructure in the region.