Airbus Aerostack

Putting fuel cells at the heart of hydrogen-powered aviation

aerostack

Pioneering ZEROe’s hydrogen fuel cell stacks

FUEL CELL INNOVATION

Airbus’ ZEROe project is developing a hydrogen-powered aircraft that uses hydrogen fuel cells as a power source. As there are no commercially available hydrogen fuel cells that meet aviation’s strict safety and weight restrictions, we have founded a partnership to create them ourselves.

Airbus Aerostack GmbH was founded in 2020 as a joint venture between Airbus and automotive supplier ElringKlinger. This collaboration is focused on researching, developing and assembling the fuel cell stacks that will potentially power a ZEROe aircraft. In addition to the power-generating fuel cells, the propulsion system includes an electrically driven motor and propeller, and a hydrogen fuel tank.

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Hydrogen fuel cell basics

SCALABLE POWER

Hydrogen fuel cells convert energy stored in hydrogen and oxygen molecules into electricity through an electrochemical reaction. They are highly efficient, and unlike batteries they can operate continuously, as long as a constant supply of hydrogen is ensured. Most importantly, they do not create any CO2 or NOx emissions: the only byproducts of the reaction are heat and water. They can also be connected to other fuel cells to create a fuel cell stack, enabling scalable power generation. 

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