A decommissioned Airbus A320 is being given a new lease of life in the service of science. The Hydrogen Aviation Lab, Hamburg's new field laboratory for testing maintenance and ground processes for future hydrogen-powered aircraft, was unveiled. German ministry has funded the joint project between Lufthansa Technik, the German Aerospace Center DLR, ZAL Center for Applied Aeronautical Research and Hamburg Airport for repurposed Airbus A320. The presentation of the Hydrogen Aviation Lab also marks the start of the installation of the hydrogen components in the coming months.The aviation industry is striving to become climate-neutral, with hydrogen widely expected to play a role as a future energy carrier. This requires not only new aircraft but also new infrastructure on the ground. Hamburg is forging a path towards such a hydrogen infrastructure: Lufthansa Technik, DLR, ZAL and Hamburg Airport have joined forces to design and test maintenance and ground-based processes for hydrogen technology. The project is funded by Hamburg's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Innovation as well as the city's investment and development bank IFB Hamburg.Over the next few months, the Hydrogen Aviation Lab will be fitted with a full suite of test systems as well as an internal tank for liquid hydrogen and an onboard fuel cell, paired with supporting ground-based hydrogen infrastructure.With the Hydrogen Aviation Lab, the project partners want to prepare for handling and maintenance of hydrogen-powered aircraft, whose entry into service is forecast for the middle of the next decade. Yet the laboratory will also spur on developers of future hydrogen-powered aircraft generations by helping optimise the procedures and safety levels during maintenance work or ground-handling.A particularly striking example is refuelling with liquid hydrogen (Liquid H2, or LH2 for short). Using current technology, the refuelling for a long-haul flight could possibly take several hours. Given the pressure on aircraft turnaround times in the airline industry, this would be clearly impracticable. The Hydrogen Aviation Lab is designed to address this and many other areas of research includingRefuelling with liquid hydrogenCooling, insulation and occupational safetyLeakage of hydrogen gas, so-called Boil-OffMaking stored hydrogen inertParallel to research carried out using the physical hardware of the Hydrogen Aviation Lab, the project also involves the creation of a so-called digital twin of the Airbus A320. Therein, simulations will enable researchers to develop and test predictive maintenance methods for the systems and components of future aircraft generations. Using targeted data analyses, failures of hydrogen components and systems could thus be predicted ahead of their failure in the physical system, allowing timely replacements before component failures affect aircraft operation.
A decommissioned Airbus A320 is being given a new lease of life in the service of science. The Hydrogen Aviation Lab, Hamburg's new field laboratory for testing maintenance and ground processes for future hydrogen-powered aircraft, was unveiled. German ministry has funded the joint project between Lufthansa Technik, the German Aerospace Center DLR, ZAL Center for Applied Aeronautical Research and Hamburg Airport for repurposed Airbus A320. The presentation of the Hydrogen Aviation Lab also marks the start of the installation of the hydrogen components in the coming months.The aviation industry is striving to become climate-neutral, with hydrogen widely expected to play a role as a future energy carrier. This requires not only new aircraft but also new infrastructure on the ground. Hamburg is forging a path towards such a hydrogen infrastructure: Lufthansa Technik, DLR, ZAL and Hamburg Airport have joined forces to design and test maintenance and ground-based processes for hydrogen technology. The project is funded by Hamburg's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Innovation as well as the city's investment and development bank IFB Hamburg.Over the next few months, the Hydrogen Aviation Lab will be fitted with a full suite of test systems as well as an internal tank for liquid hydrogen and an onboard fuel cell, paired with supporting ground-based hydrogen infrastructure.With the Hydrogen Aviation Lab, the project partners want to prepare for handling and maintenance of hydrogen-powered aircraft, whose entry into service is forecast for the middle of the next decade. Yet the laboratory will also spur on developers of future hydrogen-powered aircraft generations by helping optimise the procedures and safety levels during maintenance work or ground-handling.A particularly striking example is refuelling with liquid hydrogen (Liquid H2, or LH2 for short). Using current technology, the refuelling for a long-haul flight could possibly take several hours. Given the pressure on aircraft turnaround times in the airline industry, this would be clearly impracticable. The Hydrogen Aviation Lab is designed to address this and many other areas of research includingRefuelling with liquid hydrogenCooling, insulation and occupational safetyLeakage of hydrogen gas, so-called Boil-OffMaking stored hydrogen inertParallel to research carried out using the physical hardware of the Hydrogen Aviation Lab, the project also involves the creation of a so-called digital twin of the Airbus A320. Therein, simulations will enable researchers to develop and test predictive maintenance methods for the systems and components of future aircraft generations. Using targeted data analyses, failures of hydrogen components and systems could thus be predicted ahead of their failure in the physical system, allowing timely replacements before component failures affect aircraft operation.
