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The white paper warned that “other technologies, including more and hydrogen-combustion turbines is also
fuel-efficient aircraft and sustainable aviation fuels, along with recommended.
measures to moderate traffic growth, will be needed to meet
airlines’ aggressive climate goals.” The paper argued that “investment in hydro-
gen production, distribution to airports, and
On cost, the white paper found that “fuelling LH2 designs with aircraft refuelling technology will bolster the
green hydrogen is expected to cost more than fossil jet fuel but economic case for hydrogen-powered aircraft,
less than using blue hydrogen or e-kerosene. Our results suggest while policies to accelerate fuel efficiency, for
that green LH2 will be cheaper than e-kerosene on routes up to example, a coordinated phase out of aircraft
3,400 kilometres.” that fail ICAO’s aircraft

The authors urged manufacturers to prioritize aircraft develop- CO2 standard, could create new market pull
ment around narrow-body LH2-powered designs to provide the for hydrogen aircraft following their entry into
highest potential emissions coverage. “Narrow-body aircraft are service.”
responsible for more than half of all aviation RPKs flown today
and while LH2-powered narrow-body aircraft cannot completely Piece of the Puzzle
replace its fossil-fuelled alternative, they could cover almost two-
thirds of the narrowbody market, which translates to one-third A missing part to the hydrogen story is the
of the total passenger aviation market,” said the authors. capital investment needed to develop hydro-
gen aircraft or to build hydrogen fuelling
In contrast, they added that an LH2-powered turboprop can infrastructure for the hydrogen-powered
replace most of the existing turboprop market, however it would aircraft at the airport, the paper notes. That
cover less than 1 per cent of the total passenger aviation market. critical aspect is also noted by the UK’s Flyzero
The white paper found that advances in key technology param- which states that “for a liquid hydrogen
eters can improve the economic case for LH2-powered aircraft. fuelled aircraft to be successful it is essential
“Improvements in LH2 storage technology to increase GI to understand the impacts on stakeholders,
(Gravimetric Indices denotes the ratio of the fuel mass to the including airports, airlines and air navigation
mass of the full fuel system) would reduce the weight of the fuel service providers.
system, thereby boosting range, reducing fuel use and cost, and “Considerable infrastructure development is
growing the addressable market. Research and development required, and new regulations and procedures
into hydrogen-combustion turbines could reduce fuel burn and are needed to allow the aircraft to oper-
improve the aircraft’s range. Improvements in the hydrogen pro- ate safely. Liquid hydrogen presents many
duction process, such as an increased electrolyser efficiency, challenges, not least operating at cryogenic
would reduce its net energy ratio and drive down its price,” said temperatures of minus 253˚C.” There is little
the authors. question that hydrogen is an important part
But the White Paper warned that “supportive government pol- of the net zero 2050 goal but it is no magic
icies will be needed if LH2-powered aircraft are to succeed.” bullet with huge cost, infrastructure and tech-
“These include carbon pricing, low-carbon fuel standards, or nical challenges.
alternative fuel mandates to bridge the cost gap with fossil jet The airline industry is the most competitive of
fuel, and life cycle accounting to ensure that aviation has access markets and thus it will clearly require global
to the cleanest sources of hydrogen,” said the paper. government assistance, regulation and agree-
Also needed is public support for research and development ment to ensure it is fully implemented across
pursuit of net zero.
of key hydrogen technologies such as LH2 storage tanks the industry to achieve its full potential in the

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