Airbus to study contrails produced by hydrogen combustion engines

FARNBOROUGH, U.K. - Airbus UpNext, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Airbus based in Madrid, Spain, has announced a flight test program to study the contrails produced by a hydrogen combustion engine as part the Company’s ZEROe roadmap. The announcement was made at the Farnborough International Airshow. 

The project, named "Blue Condor," will launch two modified Arcus gliders. One glider will be equipped with a hydrogen combustion engine and one will be equipped with a conventional kerosene-powered combustion engine in order to compare contrails emitted at high altitudes.

"Contrail characterization is of significant interest to Airbus. We know that hydrogen emits no carbon dioxide when burned, but we also know that with water vapor and heat being the most significant by-products, hydrogen combustion does produce contrails. Although these contrails differ significantly to those produced by conventional JetA/A1 combustion engines, understanding their composition will be key to support our decarburization journey," said Sandra Bour Schaeffer, CEO of Airbus UpNext.

The Blue Condor demonstrator will be supported by the Perlan Project team, which will be responsible for the modification of the Arcus gliders.

The German Research Center (DLR) will collect and analyze data captured using their measurement instrumentation sensors on a chase aircraft, while Airbus will ensure the provision of the hydrogen system and equipment, including the combustion engine as well as the details of the flight test mission.

The test flights will be carried out back-to-back under the same meteorological conditions. Test flights are scheduled for late 2022 in North Dakota in collaboration with the University of North Dakota.