Accelerating Hydrogen-Enabled Flight: Cranfield University's Green Aerospace Projects
Key Ideas
- Cranfield University and partners receive £250 million to drive green aerospace projects focusing on hydrogen-enabled flight to reduce aviation carbon emissions.
- Two projects, Dragonfly and MACH2INE, aim to develop technologies like a special valve for liquid hydrogen flow control and machines to test materials for hydrogen-powered aircraft.
- Dr. Efstathios Siampis emphasizes the importance of cleaner aviation through the development of specialized valves for future fuel systems.
- Dr. Francesco Fanicchia highlights the critical role of testing materials for hydrogen-powered aviation to accelerate validation across the UK aerospace industry.
At the Paris Air Show, Industry Minister Sarah Jones announced that Cranfield University and its industry partners are receiving £250 million in funding to drive green aerospace projects focusing on hydrogen-enabled flight to decrease aviation carbon emissions. Professor Dame Helen Atkinson expressed confidence in UK aerospace innovation, foreseeing a transformative impact from this investment. Cranfield is engaged in two projects, Dragonfly and MACH2INE, leveraging their expertise in hydrogen power and materials science. Dragonfly, in collaboration with Actuation Lab, is working on a specialized valve for super-cold liquid hydrogen flow control. Dr. Siampis emphasized the significance of developing this valve for cleaner aviation. The MACH2INE project, with Darvick Ltd, focuses on machines to test materials for hydrogen-powered aircraft under extreme conditions. Dr. Fanicchia stressed the need for reliable testing to certify materials for hydrogen-powered aviation, aiming to advance the UK aerospace supply chain's material validation. These projects mark crucial steps in the journey towards decarbonizing aviation and indicate a positive shift towards hydrogen-enabled flight in the UK aerospace industry.