The ALRIGH2T project is bringing together an international consortium of 21 partners from seven EU countries and Israel for a period of 48 months with funding totalling almost ten million euros. With their developments, the partners want to contribute to reducing the environmental impact of the aviation sector. According to the announcement, this sector is responsible for 2.5 to 3 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions.
The project is purely about the airport-side infrastructure for LH2-based aircraft engines – whether the liquid hydrogen is then burnt in an adapted aircraft engine or converted into electricity for an electric motor by a fuel cell is of secondary importance. In addition to direct refuelling, the research teams also want to investigate solutions such as swapping entire hydrogen tanks. Hydrogen becomes liquid at temperatures below -253 degrees Celsius, in which case it is referred to as liquid hydrogen or LH2 for short.
This is not the first LH2 project for airports in Europe. In Hamburg, the effects of LH2 drives on ground handling at airports have already been analysed – for example in aircraft maintenance.
“However, the development of innovative LH2-based solutions brings with it many new challenges in terms of hydrogen management and handling at airports, ensuring delivery times and maintaining a high level of safety and operational security. The use of refuelling systems from ALRIGH2T aims to overcome these significant challenges arising from the use of LH2 in aviation,” reads the press release from the Salzburg Aluminium Group, which is involved in the project.
