TU Delft is one of the academic partners in an innovative aviation hydrogen handling and refuelling project, led by Airbus and supported by academic partners, airport operators and leading hydrogen-industry companies that was launched on 16 May in Brussels. The project, co-funded by the European Union, has been launched to demonstrate small-scale liquid hydrogen aircraft ground operations at three European airports, including Rotterdam The Hague Airport.

The urge to decarbonise our economy and to develop Europe’s energy independence is leading to a major trend of hydrogen for mobility and stationary applications. Hydrogen will also be a solution to decarbonise short- and medium-haul aviation and will be crucial for the advancement of low-carbon aviation operations.

The GOLIAT (Ground Operations of LIquid hydrogen AircrafT) project* will receive funding of €10.8 million from the EU’s Horizon Europe Framework Programme, over a duration of four years, and will demonstrate how high-flow liquid hydrogen (LH2) handling and refuelling technologies can be developed and used safely and reliably for airport operations.

The GOLIAT consortium consists of 10 partners from eight countries: Airbus (France, Germany, UK), Chart Industries (Czech Republic, Italy), TU Delft (Netherlands), Leibniz University Hannover (Germany), Royal Schiphol Group (Netherlands), Rotterdam The Hague Airport (Netherlands), Vinci Airports (France, Portugal), Stuttgart Airport (Germany), H2FLY (Germany), and Budapest Airport (Hungary).

In a major new milestone for VoltAero’s development of its Cassio e-aircraft family, the company’s parallel electric-hybrid powertrain has begun certification testing for the five-seat Cassio 330 version.

Installed on a ground-based test bench, this powertrain integrates the key elements for series production Cassio 330s: Safran Electrical & Power’s ENGINeUS 100 smart electric motor; and Kawasaki’s four-cylinder high-performance thermal engine derived from the iconic Ninja® motorcycle.

The Cassio 330’s powertrain has a combined electric-hybrid power of 330 kilowatts, with 180 kilowatts delivered by the ENGINeUS 100 electric motor and 150 kilowatts provided by the Kawasaki thermal engine.

“Full-scale powertrain certification testing for our Cassio 330 marks another important step in VoltAero’s commitment to produce a new-generation electric-hybrid aircraft family, bringing together our proprietary powertrain with an airframe that is optimized for aerodynamic and operational efficiency,” said Jean Botti, VoltAero’s CEO and Chief Technology Officer.

CFM reports that it is at a stage of the Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) program in which it is doing real testing on real hardware and making real progress.

As the RISE program’s game-changing technologies evolve from promising design concepts to functioning components and systems, the pace of testing is accelerating.

“We are at a stage of the program in which we’re doing real testing on real hardware and making real progress,” says Mohamed Ali, vice president and general manager of engineering for GE Aerospace.

“It’s full speed ahead for the RISE program in 2024,” adds Arjan Hegeman, general manager of advanced technology for GE Aerospace. “It’s a period of innovation unlike anything GE Aerospace has seen before.”

Unveiled in 2021 by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines, the RISE program is advancing technologies to support flight that aims to be 20% more fuel efficient with 20% lower carbon emissions than current commercial engines. It’s a challenge, and one that’s critical to meeting the aviation industry’s long-term climate goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 for commercial flight. More than 100 tests have been completed so far.

Tests on the program’s next-generation high-pressure turbine, which were recently conducted in a demonstrator engine at GE Aerospace headquarters in Evendale, Ohio, confirmed that it can deliver significant fuel efficiency improvement and increased durability. “It demonstrated a generational step-change improvement in our turbine component cooling technology,” Hegeman says. The technology will be useful in the compact core GE Aerospace is developing for the RISE program through NASA’s Hybrid Thermally Efficient Core (HyTEC) program, which …

Microchip Technology in Chandler, Ariz. has introduced a new integrated actuation power solution to meet the aviation industry’s push for sustainability and decarbonization and the adoption of electric actuation systems in aircraft.

The solution combines companion gate driver boards with Microchip’s Hybrid Power Drive (HPD) modules, available in silicon carbide or silicon technology with a power range of 5 kVA to 20 kVA.

The integrated system maintains a consistent footprint regardless of power output and is designed to be used in various applications including flight controls, braking, and landing gear electrification.

The devices undergo rigorous testing to meet aviation standards outlined in DO-160, ensuring high reliability. They feature multiple protection features such as short circuit protection and under-voltage lockout.

Electra.aero, Inc. (“Electra”), a next-gen aerospace company committed to decarbonizing aviation and opening new air transportation markets, today announced a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the U.S. Army valued at $1.9 million that funds powered wind tunnel testing of Electra’s hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft. The award enables the U.S. Army to explore Electra’s unique blown wing aircraft technology potential to broaden U.S. military capabilities, especially for fuel-efficient, resilient logistics in contested environments.

Electra’s eSTOL represents a new category of aircraft capability, combining helicopter-like operational flexibility with superior fixed wing-like performance and operating costs. The innovative combination of blown lift and eight distributed electric motors significantly increases wing lift, enabling ultra-short takeoffs and landings from spaces as small as a soccer field, and dramatically reduced noise and fuel use …

The Tri-Cities Airport (PSC) has teamed up with BioFiltro to try a new theory to study the effectiveness of worm-powered wastewater treatment on airport de-icing wastewater. During the winter months, de-icing is heavily used and very important for aircraft safety. The de-icing fluids are made of ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and a few other ingredients known to be potentially dangerous for the environment. In the past, the airport has collected the de-icing wastewater and then transported it to the Pasco Wastewater Treatment Facility to clean it of potentially dangerous elements. Now the treatment facility is having trouble keeping up with the amount of de-icer produced and asked the airport to try and find a different solution to take care of the de-icing wastewater.

Read More: Tri-Cities Airport Using Worms to Solve a Huge Pollution Problem | https://newstalk870.am/ixp/134/p/tri-cities-airport-worms-deicing-pollution/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

Gatwick Airport has developed a cloud-based geospatial data platform to make engineering and construction works safer by reducing accidental strikes on buried utilities.

It also supports better management of the airport’s biodiversity, while plans include its use as an asset planning tool and as the basis for a comprehensive digital twin of the airport…

NOVAdev Hydrogen Flux Capacitor is scalable for large and small aircraft applications. Shown here as an element of the hydrogen storage system for a 3,200 nautical mile advanced turboelectric air freighter.

Transformative innovation holds hydrogen in a solid-state at lower pressure and 30% greater storage density than liquid hydrogen alone. We store hydrogen as a compact solid at low pressure. That is as transformative for hydrogen as LEDs for lighting.”— Michael Kramer, NOVAdev…

KULR unveiled a commitment exceeding $1 million with H55 Inc. (“H55”), a pioneer and global leader in electric propulsion. H55 will employ KULR’s unique Thermal Runaway Shield (“TRS”) within its propulsion systems that equip fleets of industry behemoths such as Pratt & Whitney and CAE Inc. (NYSE: CAE). According to the agreement, the initial delivery phase began in Q1 2024. Embedding KULR’s TRS into H55’s Electrical Propulsion System (“EPS”) is critical for aligning with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (“EASA”) safety protocols. H55 harnesses KULR’s innovative TRS to construct systems that adhere to stringent safety measures while retaining efficiency and energy density. EASA recently approved the H55 EPS solution, paving the way for the critical compliance demonstration phase of their certification program (https://h55.ch/news/).

Michael Mo, CEO of KULR, reflected on the significance of this collaboration. “Working with H55 epitomizes our commitment to setting new standards for safety in electric aviation. With H55, we reinforce our role in…

Numerous research teams across universities throughout the country are delving into diverse aviation environmental issues such as sustainable aviation fuels, aircraft emissions, and noise impacts. This research is being facilitated through grants provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA has allocated $27.2 million to 11 universities in the United States under its Aviation Sustainability Center (ASCENT) program. These grants will be supplemented equally by contributions from the Center’s partners, as part of the program’s cost-sharing agreement.

“The work of these teams is a cornerstone of the FAA’s sustainability efforts,” said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker. “The entire aviation industry can leverage this research to reduce noise and enable safe and efficient operations while working toward net-zero emissions by 2050.”