Story of Boeing's Hydrogen Fuel Cell Aircraft

By Glenn Pew for AVweb.com
Boeing has flown a manned aircraft on hydrogen fuel cell power. The full text of Boeing's release follows:

MADRID, Spain, April 03, 2008 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] announced today that it has, for the first time in aviation history, flown a manned airplane powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

The recent milestone is the work of an engineering team at Boeing Research & Technology Europe (BR&TE) in Madrid, with assistance from industry partners in Austria, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

"Boeing is actively working to develop new technologies for environmentally progressive aerospace products," said Francisco Escarti, BR&TE's managing director. "We are proud of our pioneering work during the past five years on the Fuel Cell Demonstrator Airplane project. It is a tangible example of how we are exploring future leaps in environmental performance, as well as a credit to the talents and innovative spirit of our team."
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts hydrogen directly into electricity and heat with none of the products of combustion such as carbon dioxide. Other than heat, water is its only exhaust.

A two-seat Dimona motor-glider with a 16.3 meter (53.5 foot) wingspan was used as the airframe. Built by Diamond Aircraft Industries of Austria, it was modified by BR&TE to include a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell/lithium-ion battery hybrid system to power an electric motor coupled to a conventional propeller.
Three test flights took place in February and March at the airfield in Ocaña, south of Madrid, operated by the Spanish company SENASA.

During the flights, the pilot of the experimental airplane climbed to an altitude of 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) above sea level using a combination of battery power and power generated by hydrogen fuel cells. Then, after reaching the cruise altitude and disconnecting the batteries, the pilot flew straight and level at a cruising speed of 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) for approximately 20 minutes on power solely generated by the fuel cells.

According to Boeing researchers, PEM fuel cell technology potentially could power small manned and unmanned air vehicles. Over the longer term, solid oxide fuel cells could be applied to secondary power-generating systems, such as auxiliary power units for large commercial airplanes. Boeing does not envision that fuel cells will ever provide primary power for large passenger airplanes, but the company will continue to investigate their potential, as well as other sustainable alternative fuel and energy sources that improve environmental performance.

BR&TE, part of the Boeing Phantom Works advanced R&D unit, has worked closely with Boeing Commercial Airplanes and a network of partners since 2003 to design, assemble and fly the experimental craft.

The group of companies, universities and institutions participating in this project includes:
Austria -- Diamond Aircraft Industries
France -- SAFT France
Germany -- Gore and MT Propeller
Spain -- Adventia, Aerlyper, Air Liquide Spain, Indra, Ingeniería de Instrumentación y Control (IIC), Inventia, SENASA, Swagelok, Técnicas Aeronauticas de Madrid (TAM), Tecnobit, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and the Regional Government of Madrid
United Kingdom -- Intelligent Energy
United States -- UQM Technologies.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

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• dimona
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[inPB]

Future belongs to electric motors. Waiting for revoultion in battery industry, firt of all - more safty ones.

[ThinkStage]

Very cool

To see more innovative videos like this or want to share your own ideas visit ThinkStageDOTcom

[tarrasque420]

I don’t understand why boing didn’t use electrolyte in the water to create HHO then use the gas to power a strong internal combustion engine or a pulse jet engine that could make the aircraft break the sound barrier that would be impressive.

[walter0bz]

@Me102288 -

think of the hydrogen and oxygen atoms connected by a spring.

when you split it, you stretch this spring (storing ENERGY)

when you burn it, you release this spring, *releasing* energy.

the fact different atoms split & recombine doesn't matter - its' still movement against the electrostatic force between nuclei and electrons. STORING energy, and RELEASING it. the energy doesn't come from the hydrogen, it comes from the electricity you use to split. HHO is similar to clockwork

[walter0bz]

@Me102288

>>"never called it an energy source, I call it fuel, like nasa."

- well - it only helps us if its an ENERGY SOURCE because that is what we need when the oil runs out. Solar = trees, wind = sailing-ships & windmills. geothermal already in use.

Where will the energy come from

>>"You have to spitt hydrogen and oxgen out of water.."

- yes, which requires an ENERGY SOURCE.

you are claiming the hydrogen itself provides energy. It does not. It STORES the energy you supply when you SPLIT it

[Me102288]

@walter0bz never called it an energy source, I call it fuel, like nasa.

I dont have children lol, I'm glad to, most ofthem are idiots.

The have to refine the gasoline and diesel out of oil.

You have to spitt hydrogen and oxgen out of water..

I really dont know why your argueing its pretty simple if you ask me.

[Me102288]

@walter0bz your kidding yourself, look up how they refine oil. Its boiling and they filter off the different fuels that comes from oil. I see thats wrong, straight from theoildrumw ebsite on EROI it states: cut/paste from site.. Case in point is petroleum: today globally we find only one barrel for each 4 or 5 that we extract.

if you didnt understand them they said the current EROI for petroleum (aka gasoline/ diesel for combustion engines) is 1 gallon (refined) out of 4 to 5 barrels of oil .

[walter0bz]

@Me102288

"lol car radio takes more power the an hho generator"

If you run your HHO generator for 1 hour, how LONG does it take for the car to burn that much hydrogen.

1 hour generating at 200 watts = HOW MANY HOURS DRIVING at 2000 watts?? 0.1 perhaps???

[walter0bz]

@Me102288

1 watt = 1 joule,

WRONG, MORON, 1WATT = 1 JOULE PER SECOND.

How LONG can you run the engine for.

You aren't factoring in time i.e. HOW MUCH FUEL YOU BURN. you're telling me the engine makes 1700 'JOULES' because a 220 watt Alternator makes hydrogen to drive a 2000 watt engine - YOU DIDN'T FACTOR IN TIME TO MAKE THE FUEL BURNT. learn to think!!!!!!!