Cranfield University has secured £69 million (US$86.6 million) of funding to expand R&D into hydrogen aviation.
The funding is the largest sum Cranfield University has ever received and will be used to create the Cranfield Hydrogen Integration Incubator (CH2i).
CH2i aims to scale up hydrogen aviation with hydrogen production, transport, storage and connecting the various strands across the campus, expanding existing facilities and supporting R&D across the whole supply chain.
Professor Karen Holford, chief executive and vice-chancellor of Cranfield University said, “This investment builds on Cranfield’s expertise in hydrogen research and will help the aviation industry to make the leap to using hydrogen,”
“CH2i will integrate with other large industry research areas at Cranfield including our novel hydrogen production programmes and our Aerospace Integration Research Centre and the Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre.
“Working with research and industry partners nationally and internationally, we will unlock some of the most significant technical challenges around the future development and deployment of hydrogen in aviation.”
Cranfield is s the only university in Europe with its own airport and the controlled airside environment can be used to test new technologies, systems and processes at scale. One of CH2i’s key infrastructure elements will be expanding Cranfield’s Airport for H2 operations.
The three large infrastructure elements of CH2i are:
- Hydrogen Integration Research Centre – extending an existing facility, this will include new labs for advanced materials synthesis and testing for hydrogen-based technologies, analytical laboratories and a dedicated innovation area to develop next generation hydrogen pilot plant demonstration, electrolysis, catalyst development and green hydrogen.
- Enabling Hydrogen Innovation (Test Area) – investment into two separate test bed facilities, able to support hydrogen and liquid hydrogen activity, fuel systems, storage and propulsion system integration at mid- and high-technology readiness levels.
- Development of Cranfield Airport’s infrastructure, increasing its capability for safe operation and testing of future demonstrator hydrogen-powered aviation.
“A key part of this initiative is achieving rapid innovation within a regulated, safety-critical context,” said Professor Leon A Terry, pro-vice chancellor for research and innovation at Cranfield University.
“Cranfield has existing expertise in the production, storage and use of hydrogen in an industrial context, and a track record of building near-industrial scale facilities. This funding heralds a transformation in the hydrogen research trajectory, and our unique expertise and facilities puts Cranfield right at the centre of accelerating hydrogen development in the UK.”
