EasyJet is set to become the world's first major airline to use green hydrogen fuelled aircraft on commercial flights.
The low budget carrier is planning to use eco-friendly hydrogen cell technology on passenger flights as early as 2030 in an attempt to slash its carbon footprint.
EasyJet have joined Cranfield Aerospace Solutions based out of Cranfield University in Hertfordshire to develop the technology.
It would mean passengers flying out of airports like Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, Bristol and Edinburgh would have the option to take environmentally friendly flights for holidays or business.
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Cranfield are being backed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the Government who have awarded them £7.5 million for development. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has also given the project his approval.
Loganair, the Island-hopping Scottish aviation service, which boasts the world's shortest commercial flight, the 90 second hop between Westray and Papa Westray in the Orkneys, hope to use a smaller scale version of the Cranfield technology by 2025. Small airlines in Denmark, Boston, USA and Ireland are also partners.
But easyJet is the first major international carrier to support the Cranfield project. Initially they are looking at medium haul flights from British airports.
EasyJet currently fly from Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey, Liverpool, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Newquay and Southampton.
Experts say hydrogen fuel cells have zero emissions, no battery charge and flight turnaround time is comparable to that of conventional fuels, with fuel costs significantly lower. Converting electricity to Hydrogen to make the fuel is also carbon-zero.
How hydrogen powers planes
Fugture passenger aircraft could be powered b two types of hydrogen use.
The first is hydrogen fuel cells which produce clean electricity, with no fuel burn or emissions, which then power engines. They are similar to conventional batteries. But unlike car batteries, they do not run down or need to be recharged as long as they’re fed a combination of hydrogen and oxygen.
The second variant is hydrogen gas turbine engines, which burn hydrogen in a similar way to jet fuel. But unlike traditional jet engines, hydrogen produces no emissions.
One of the major issues for developers is that both types would require much larger fuel tanks to carry the amount of hydrogen needed for typical short and mid-range passenger routes
Cranfield are currently developing a nine-seater Britten-Normander plane to fly for 60 minutes with 45 minutes reserve fuel time. By 20230 they believe far longer flights of up to four hours can be achieved.
David Morgan, Director of Flight Operations at easyJet said: "We remain absolutely committed to sustainable flying and towards a future with zero-emission flying.
"Technology is a key driver to achieve our decarbonisation targets with Hydrogen propulsion a front-runner for short-haul airlines like us.
"We look forward to collaborating with Cranfield Aerospace Solutions to support bringing this technology to maturity as soon as possible."
Paul Hutton, Chief Executive of Cranfield Aerospace solutions said: "We are committed to ensuring the wide-spread adoption of zero-emissions aircraft and for this to succeed the solutions must be commercially viable. EasyJet, as one of Europe's leading airlines is ideally placed to help shape our development."
EasyJet pilots, engineers and maintenance experts will work closely with the Cranfield team.
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