A lubricant for hydrogen engines is ready for the market
January 17, 2025
Fuchs and Dumarey began a collaboration in 2021 that has led to the creation of cutting-edge lubricants and, in particular, to the production of a lubricant capable of meeting the specifications of hydrogen engines.
Source: Fuchs
Turbotech, Safran and Air Liquide have demonstrated the feasibility of a liquid hydrogen-powered turbine for light aviation
January 13, 2025
In January 2024, the BeautHyFuel project, launched in June 2022 and led by Turbotech and Elixir Aircraft, tested a turbine for the light aviation sector using gaseous hydrogen. Now, Turbotech, Safran and Air Liquide have successfully ground-tested, at Air Liquide's Grenoble Technologies Campus, a gas turbine powered by cryogenic liquid hydrogen (-250 °C) stored in a tank developed by Air Liquide.
The aim of the project was to demonstrate that it is possible to achieve zero-carbon propulsion in flight with an energy density similar to a conventional fuel system.
Source: Safran group
JCB Hydrogen Engine Approved
10 January, 2025
JCB has announced that its fully functional hydrogen-powered combustion engine has been approved/certified by 11 European licensing authorities: the Netherlands, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. This is the result of a team of 150 engineers working over three years.
JCB has already produced more than 130 engines which are in advanced evaluation with positive results.
Source: Agg-net
Selective oxygen anodes for seawater electrolysis
September 20, 2024
The first production plant for selective oxygen anodes will be built in San Diego, California, USA. This was announced by Dr. Xin Chen, co-founder of Equatic, a company that developed these anodes at UCLA with the financial support of ARPA-E.
This is a big step forward because these anodes allow the electrolysis of seawater, which is much more abundant and less valuable than fresh water. While traditional anodes would also produce chlorine, making seawater electrolysis critical, these anodes are coated with selective catalysts that do not react with the salt in seawater. The only problem seems to be the need to re-coat the electrodes with a new layer of catalyst every three years.
Source: Equatic
A new high-efficiency, high-throughput photocatalyst
July 30, 2024
MOFs (metal-organic frameworks) are made of positively charged metal ions surrounded by organic molecules. They have nanometric pores and adjustable structural properties and for this reason, they have been studied as a means of hydrogen storage. A team from Oregon State University led by Kyriakos Stylianou has instead used them to create a catalyst that, when exposed to sunlight, splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The materials used in this project were ruthenium oxide and titanium oxide doped with sulfur and nitrogen and, after testing various combinations, the researchers found the one that allows the best efficiency combined with the highest production speed, capable of using 10% of the incident photons. Fortunately, it is a photocatalyst that contains a minimal amount of ruthenium, a very expensive material.
Source: Oregon State University
A hydrogen flight around the world
February 7, 2024
The Swiss explorer Bertrand Piccard, already famous for his exploits in a hot air balloon and with a solar plane, presented Climate Impulse, his project to circumnavigate the planet in 9 days with a non-stop flight and using green hydrogen as fuel.
Climate Impulse has already required two years of research, development, and design with the support of major companies such as Airbus, Daher, Capgemini, and Ariane Group. The construction phase has now started under the direction of engineer Raphaël Dinelli. In another two years, the plane will be ready to begin testing. At the end of the tests, the feat will be attempted by Bertrand Piccard and Raphaël Dinelli.
The propulsion system will be electric with engines powered by fuel cells. The accumulation of hydrogen will be carried out in the liquid phase in order to reduce the overall dimensions. The crucial part will be the choice of materials to guarantee lightness and robustness to the aircraft and Syensqo will take care of these aspects, as it has already done for Solar Impulse.
Source: Climate Impulse
Sirius Jet, the world's first hydrogen VTOL aircraft
January 10, 2024
The world's first hydrogen-powered vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft has been unveiled by Swiss startup Sirius Aviation AG. The aircraft is the result of a collaboration with BMW's Designworks, Sauber Group, Alfleth Engineering AG, and ALD Group.
The Sirius Jet is powered by a hydrogen-electric propulsion system with zero chemical emissions and very low noise emissions (60 dBa).
Marketing is scheduled for 2025 with two different versions: Sirius Business Jet and Sirius Millennium Jet, which differ in the number of passengers (3 vs 5) and the flight range (1850 km vs 1050 km), maintaining performance intact in terms of cruising speed (520 km/h) and altitude (up to approximately 9000 m).
Source: Sirius Aviation AG