Another Breakthrough in Aircraft Fuel Cell Technology

Europe's aviation establishment continues to push the limits of fuel cell technology.

This past week, an Antares motor glider became the first manned aircraft to take off and land using only a fuel cell to power its electric engine. DLR, Germany's national aviation research body, conducted the test in partnership with BASF and Denmark's Serenergy,
a company that designs fuel cell stacks and power modules. While it's unlikely that fuel cells will ever be used to propel commercial aircraft, researchers believe the technology could be used for electrical systems and axillary power. 

The air-cooled stack in the fuel cell system uses polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) technology based on BASF's Celtec membrane electrode assemblies and a stack supplied by Serenergy. A PEM fuel cell, which operates at between 120°C and 180°C, uses hydrogen fuel and oxygen from the air to produce electricity. The potential power generated by a fuel stack depends on the number and size of the individual fuel cells that make up the stack and the surface area of the PEM.

DLR isn't the only one making moves in this area. In a test earlier this year Airbus powered an aircraft system with a conventional hydrogen and oxygen based fuel cell that generated up to 20kW to power the aircraft's back-up hydraulic circuit, an electric motor pump, and ailerons. Boeing Research and Technology Europe modified a two-seat Diamond Aircraft Dimona motor glider with a PEM fuel cell/lithium-ion battery hybrid to power an electric motor coupled to a conventional propeller.

DLR says that although results from the test are promising, more research needs to be done, and points out that the Antares trial is just one part of a larger process. "For us, we are only interested in using the motor
glider as a flying test bed (experimentation platform)," says Hans Müller-Steinhagen, the
professor leading the test. "We want to use it to fly different
configurations using different control strategies and different fuel
types."

Future plans have not yet been announced, but the next step may be to try the fuel cell on DLR's Airbus A320 test
bed.

Photo: Lange Aviation GmbH