Airbus has achieved a historic aviation milestone with the successful completion of the first transatlantic test flight by its ZEROe hydrogen-powered demonstrator aircraft, flying from Toulouse, France to Montreal, Canada β a distance of 5,800 km β entirely on liquid hydrogen combustion with zero COβ emissions.
The modified A380 flying testbed, which has one of its four engines replaced with a hydrogen turbofan, carried 50 tonnes of liquid hydrogen stored in cryogenic tanks in its lower cargo hold. The 7-hour flight demonstrated the viability of hydrogen propulsion for long-haul aviation.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury confirmed that the company remains on track to certify a hydrogen-powered regional aircraft by 2035. “Today we proved that hydrogen flight is not a fantasy. It is engineering,” he said. The demonstration will accelerate the development of hydrogen refueling infrastructure at airports worldwide.
