The use of liquid hydrogen in fuel cells as an energy source has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft and thus contribute to the long-term vision of the decarbonisation journey of aviation. Within the Clean Aviation project FAME, the project partners are developing a hydrogen-powered fuel cell system for a four-engine LH2 aircraft concept. The objective of FAME is to pave the way for a compact, lightweight and highly efficient fully electric propulsion system that could be used in future regional aircraft.
Industry and research partners are jointly generating a tailored aircraft configuration serving as a demonstration platform specifically designed to test a low-emission propulsion system. The focus lies on integrating the entire propulsion system – including cooling ducts and heat exchangers – into the aircraft structure. The Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology analyses how the resulting heat can be reliably dissipated while simultaneously ensuring the required aerodynamic performance of the aircraft.
Using CFD-based simulations with the high-fidelity flow solver TAU, our researchers analyse the interactions between the cooling duct system and the external aerodynamics of the complete aircraft. Inlet geometries, supply ducts to the heat exchanger, outlet contours and the overall engines cowling including its integration onto the wing are varied in order to optimise both aerodynamic efficiency and cooling performance.
In addition, the project partners conduct wind tunnel experiments at TU Braunschweig. The data obtained there are used to validate the design and analysis methods of the flow through heat exchangers. This work provides a solid understanding of the technical challenges associated with a multi-megawatt fuel-cell propulsion system and forms an important basis for the development of low-emission aircraft of the next generation.
Project
FAME - Fuel Cell Propulsion System for Aircraft Megawatt Engines
Term
1/2024 - 12/2026
Project Participants
Airbus (Project leadership and coordination)
Diehl Stiftung & Co. KG
AVL List GmbH
Airbus Aerostack GmbH
Liebherr International Deutschland GmbH
Moteurs Leroy-Somer
Magna Steyr
Woodward
SmartUp-Engineering
TU Braunschweig
TU Delft
Universita Napoli Frederico II
Politechnika Rzeszowska
DLR Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology
DLR Institute of Electrified Aero Engines
Funding
FAME project is part of the the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking (CAJU) under the Horizon Europe programme. Grant agreement no. 101140559
