Airbus Delays Development of Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft
2025-02-19
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1European manufacturer Airbus has announced a delay in its development efforts of a hydrogen-powered aircraft.
2The company explained that progress on the project has been slower and more complex than expected.
3Airbus had set a goal to make a zero-emission airplane by 2035.
4The company has not announced a new target date for the plane's production.
5But the French union Force Ouvrière said some of its aircraft workers were recently told the technology was running five to 10 years behind, Reuters news agency reported.
6The French news agency AFP reported Airbus also said it had reduced the program's budget by 25 percent, but was still examining ways to reduce emissions.
7"Our ambition and roadmap towards decarbonizing. . .remain unchanged," an Airbus spokesman told AFP.
8In September 2020, Airbus presented three hydrogen-fueled airplane designs, called ZEROe, as part of its efforts to decarbonize.
9Other airplane manufacturers, however, have centered more on renewable fuels or developing electric-powered planes for short-distance flights.
10Airbus noted it has no plans to completely stop developing hydrogen-powered aircraft technology.
11The company said it sees hydrogen as "a revolutionary energy source for aviation."
12However, Airbus said in a statement to Reuters it recognizes that developing systems to produce, transport, and store hydrogen represent "a huge challenge requiring global collaboration and investment."
13Hydrogen motors do not release gases that can warm the earth's atmosphere. Instead, they release water.
14However, much of the hydrogen used for fuel is produced using natural gas or coal.
15Both of these production methods often release carbon dioxide gas, which can warm the atmosphere.
16Running renewable electricity through water can produce hydrogen without adding to carbon emissions.
17However, this process is generally more costly. Transporting and storing hydrogen also present problems.
18As a gas at room temperature, hydrogen takes up a very large space.
19This makes it impossible to use as fuel. It first needs to be turned into a liquid to be transported or stored.
20And it needs to be cooled to -253° Celsius to be liquefied.
21This cooling process requires its own source of energy.
22Liquified hydrogen still takes up four times the space of jet fuel.
23The airline industry trade association IATA believes aviation will reach most of its reduction in emissions by using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
24It believes other technologies, like hydrogen, will take longer to develop.
25SAF uses food and plant waste from cities, agricultural and forest wastes, and other non-petroleum sources.
26This fuel is then added to jet fuel in mixtures of 10 to 50 percent to become SAF.
27Airbus says it agrees that SAF can also play an important part in reducing emissions, particularly for medium and long-distance flights.
28I'm Andrew Smith.
1European manufacturer Airbus has announced a delay in its development efforts of a hydrogen-powered aircraft. The company explained that progress on the project has been slower and more complex than expected. 2Airbus had set a goal to make a zero-emission airplane by 2035. The company has not announced a new target date for the plane's production. But the French union Force Ouvrière said some of its aircraft workers were recently told the technology was running five to 10 years behind, Reuters news agency reported. 3The French news agency AFP reported Airbus also said it had reduced the program's budget by 25 percent, but was still examining ways to reduce emissions. 4"Our ambition and roadmap towards decarbonizing. . .remain unchanged," an Airbus spokesman told AFP. 5In September 2020, Airbus presented three hydrogen-fueled airplane designs, called ZEROe, as part of its efforts to decarbonize. 6Other airplane manufacturers, however, have centered more on renewable fuels or developing electric-powered planes for short-distance flights. 7Airbus noted it has no plans to completely stop developing hydrogen-powered aircraft technology. The company said it sees hydrogen as "a revolutionary energy source for aviation." 8However, Airbus said in a statement to Reuters it recognizes that developing systems to produce, transport, and store hydrogen represent "a huge challenge requiring global collaboration and investment." 9Difficulties with hydrogen 10Hydrogen motors do not release gases that can warm the earth's atmosphere. Instead, they release water. 11However, much of the hydrogen used for fuel is produced using natural gas or coal. Both of these production methods often release carbon dioxide gas, which can warm the atmosphere. 12Running renewable electricity through water can produce hydrogen without adding to carbon emissions. However, this process is generally more costly. Transporting and storing hydrogen also present problems. 13As a gas at room temperature, hydrogen takes up a very large space. This makes it impossible to use as fuel. It first needs to be turned into a liquid to be transported or stored. And it needs to be cooled to -253° Celsius to be liquefied. This cooling process requires its own source of energy. Liquified hydrogen still takes up four times the space of jet fuel. 14The airline industry trade association IATA believes aviation will reach most of its reduction in emissions by using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It believes other technologies, like hydrogen, will take longer to develop. 15SAF uses food and plant waste from cities, agricultural and forest wastes, and other non-petroleum sources. This fuel is then added to jet fuel in mixtures of 10 to 50 percent to become SAF. 16Airbus says it agrees that SAF can also play an important part in reducing emissions, particularly for medium and long-distance flights. 17I'm Andrew Smith. 18Andrew Smith adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting from Agence France-Presse and Reuters. 19______________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21emission -n. a release of gas 22ambition -n. a strong desire to achieve a goal 23roadmap -n. a plan of action to achieve a goal 24renewable -adj. describing resources such as wind, water, and sunlight which are always available 25challenge -n. a difficult thing to do or difficult goal to reach 26collaboration -n. working well with other people 27sustainable -adj. describing resources that can be used again without increasing pollution 28petroleum -n. oil found under the surface of the earth or sea.