Airbus has committed to having zero-emissions, hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft ready by 2035. Under the banner of its ZEROe project, the aerospace manufacturer introduced three different aircraft concepts last year – one turbofan, one turboprop, and one blended-wing body (the latter, as exciting of a design as it may be, is the least likely to make it into initial production).
However, the future supply of clean hydrogen to actually power any amount of mass-produced planes is far from secured. Should production remain limited towards the end of this decade and not show enough promise of scaling, Airbus may well decide to postpone the launch of its hydrogen aircraft.
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Speaking via video link at the Airbus Summit in Toulouse, Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said that developing the actual hydrogen-powered plane was most likely “not the most…