Airbus, the European multinational aerospace company unveiled 03 planes powered entirely by hydrogen

European planemaker Airbus on Monday unveiled three concepts for hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft, saying the world's first zero-emission planes could start flying by 2035.

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About the 03 hydrogen-powered planes

The three ZEROe concepts “offer the world a glimpse of our ambition to drive a bold vision for the future of zero-emissions flying,” said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury.  

This ambition includes concepts for aircraft with a turbofan engine capable of carrying 120-200 passengers over 2.000 nautical miles (3.704 km / 2.302 miles) and a turboprop engine that can accommodate up to 100 passengers and travel over 1.000 nautical miles.

The most impressive of the three is the third “mixed wing body” design, which merges the wings with the main body of the aircraft. The plane would have the transcontinental range of the turbofan concept with capacity for up to 200 passengers.

When should Airbus put in place and the sale?

Airbus' next step will be to validate these concepts and assess whether they can be turned into viable future products. The jet manufacturer highlighted that the transition to hydrogen would require support from governments in the form of increased funding for research and technology, digitization and mechanisms that encourage the use of sustainable fuels and renewal of the aircraft fleet.

For the new type of plane to gain traction, airports will have to be refurbished to incorporate hydrogen transport and refueling infrastructure, while renewable energy and hydrogen production will need to be scaled up, the company said.

“The heart of an airplane's engines is a gas turbine” in which vaporized kerosene is burned, explained French Director General of Civil Aviation (DGAC), Patrick Gandil. And making combustion with hydrogen, “almost as energetic as it”, would, according to him, only need minor modifications.