Preliminary Propulsion System Sizing Methods for PEM Fuel Cell Aircraft

Fuel cells are one of the promising technical solutions for the first generation of sustainable aircraft. Currently, there are several shortcomings in the literature related to the conceptual and preliminary sizing of the propulsion systems of such aircraft: not only is there a lack of general methods, but also, much less effort is put into the...

Conceptual Design of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Aircraft: Flying on hydrogen for a more sustainable future

The demand for air travel is increasing as more people gain access to commercial aviation. As the current generation of aircraft makes use of fossil fuel combustion, this growth results in an increase in the global emissions. This is at odds with the worldwide efforts of reducing the adverse effects of climate change. Therefore, advanced...

Implications of future atmospheric composition in decision-making for sustainable aviation

Aviation emissions lead to degraded air quality and adverse human health impacts, making air quality one of the leading environmental externalities associated with aviation. Aviation emissions have been growing steadily over the past decades, and, despite the current hindrance in air traffic due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, they are forecasted to...

The Impact of Electric Aircraft Taxiing: A Probabilistic Analysis and Fleet Assignment Optimization to find Potential Cost- and Emission Reductions

On-board electric motors can be used to drastically reduce the fuel usage during the taxiing phase of aircraft, leading to cost reductions for airlines and lower amounts of harmful emissions. This study analyses the current state of this innovation and its potential impact on aviation. On a global level, full adoption of electric aircraft...

Mitigating carbon emissions through sustainable aviation fuels: costs and potential

In general, the certified pathways for the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) are still far from being competitive with fossil kerosene, although they have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the mitigation costs related to SAFs and how they compete with the carbon credits market remain unclear. The...

Energy transition in aviation: the role of cryogenic fuels

Aviation is the backbone of our modern society. In 2019, around 4.5 billion passengers travelled through the air. However, at the same time, aviation was also responsible for around 5% of anthropogenic causes of global warming. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation sector in the short term is clearly very high, but the long-term...