Airbus Will Test Hydrogen Fuel Cell Engines on the First A380

Coming to a plane near you.

While the car world has /reluctantly/ happily chosen battery power as the future of movement, other areas of transportation are still considering the best ways to go emission-free. But, after the news this week, you’d be forgiven for thinking that hydrogen has been picked as the future of aviation.

After Rolls-Royce announced it was testing out hydrogen-powered jets that could one day power regional aircraft, Airbus decided it wanted to hop on the hydrogen hype train as well. The European plane maker will soon start testing a hydrogen fuel cell-powered engine that could power plans of the future.

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Airbus announced this week that it will begin ground and air testing of its new fuel cell engine architecture, which could be used to power zero-emission aircraft by 2035. With its new hydrogen-fueled architecture, Airbus is targeting a range of 1,000 nautical miles and capacity to power a plane that can fit “one hundred passengers.”

The hydrogen fuel cel will generate electricity to power a motor.

The fuel cells will convert hydrogen into electricity in order to power a propeller engine. Airbus added that a hydrogen gas turbine could also be added to the system to create a hybrid-electric architecture.