Airbus is increasing their UK innovation footprint to develop new hydrogen technologies with the launch of a new Zero Emission Development Centre (ZEDC) in Filton, Bristol. A priority for ZEDC will be the development of a cost-effective cryogenic fuel system.
On Wednesday (May 25, 2022), Airbus announced the expansion of their UK innovation footprint with the launch of their Zero Emission Development Centre (ZEDC) for hydrogen technologies in Filton, Bristol. One of the priorities for the UK ZEDC will be the development of a cryogenic fuel system for the successful entry-into-service of Airbus’ ZEROe passenger aircraft by 2035. The centre will also benefit from a recent UK Government’s commitment to guarantee £685 million of funding to the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) over the next three years to support the development of zero-carbon and ultra-low emission aircraft technologies.
In Wednesday’s announcment, Airbus’ Chief Technical Officer, Sabine Klauke, said,
“Establishing the ZEDC in the UK expands Airbus’ in-house industrial capabilities to design, develop, test and manufacture cryogenic hydrogen storage tanks and related systems for the ZEROe project across Airbus’ four home countries. This, coupled with our partnership with ATI, will allow us to leverage our respective expertise to realise the potential of hydrogen technology to support the decarbonisation of the aviation industry.”
Technology development at the new UK ZEDC has already commenced and will cover full product and industrial capabilities from components to whole systems and cryogenic testing, as well as end-to-end fuel systems development, a specialty of Airbus in the UK. The ZEDC complements Airbus’ existing research and technology footprint in the UK, along with the work on cryogenic liquid hydrogen tanks being done at the company’s other ZEDCs in Madrid, Spain and Stade, Germany (composite structure technologies), as well as in Nantes, France and Bremen, Germany (metallic structural technologies). All ZEDCs are expected to be ready for ground testing with the first fully functional cryogenic hydrogen tank in 2023, and flight testing from 2026.
Source: Airbus