Engineers have successfully tested a liquid hydrogen-fueled aircraft engine for use in light aviation
The ground tests are the first done for a liquid hydrogen-fueled gas turbine engine suitable for use in the light aviation market and were done at Air Liquide’s Grenoble Technologies Campus in France.
This demonstration test was part of the BeautHyFuel project which is exploring hydrogen propulsion solutions for light aircraft. It follows an initial engine qualification test campaign in January 2024 at ArianeGroup’s Vernon site in France.
In September 2024, Turbotech, Safran and Air Liquide completed ground demonstration testing of a hydrogen-fueled gas turbine aeroengine based on an ultra-efficient regenerative cycle and fed from a liquid hydrogen tank.
This demonstration followed a first test phase in January 2024 which used hydrogen fuel stored in gaseous form to perform an initial characterization of the engine.
In the second test phase, the engine was coupled to a cryogenic (–250°C) liquid storage system developed by Air Liquide to demonstrate the end-to-end integration of a propulsion system replicating all functions on a complete aircraft.
BeautHyFuel is led by Turbotech and Elixir Aviation in partnership with Safran, Air Liquide and Daher and is supported by the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC).
“This is a major step forward in the transition to fully decarbonized aircraft propulsion, which will be ready to fly as soon as the world mass-produces green hydrogen,” said Damien Fauvet, CEO of Turbotech. “The aim was to achieve a similar energy density to a conventional Avgas or Jet A-1 fuel system, while taking account of the constraints associated with the retrofit, operability and certification of a cryogenic hydrogen propulsion solution.”
Pierre-Alain Lambert, vice president of hydrogen programs at Safran said, “This second stage marks the successful culmination of the project. By coupling our technology to Air Liquide’s cryogenic storage system, which provides the energy density needed for aircraft applications, we’ve demonstrated that a complete high-tech propulsion solution with zero carbon emissions in flight is possible and that it can be directly integrated into light aircraft.
“For Safran, it rounds out the range of small-scale, agile exploratory projects we’ve been conducting, which are particularly valuable for addressing specific challenges in hydrogen propulsion for commercial aviation.”
Turbotech, Elixir Aviation, Safran, Air Liquide and Daher formed the BeautHyFuel joint research project in June 2022. The aim of this project is to design and ground test a hydrogen propulsion system rated for light aviation and develop a methodology so it can be certified for retrofit.
The French government-funded BeautHyFuel project benefits from the combination of Turbotech’s ultra-efficient light turbine technologies, Safran’s experience as an aeroengine manufacturer and fuel system designer, Air Liquide’s cryogenic hydrogen storage technologies for aerospace propulsion, Elixir’s role as a manufacturer of innovative light planes, and Daher’s experience in aircraft development, certification, production, and maintenance.
