Hydrogen Aircraft, Technologies and Operations Towards Certification Readiness Level 1

Aviation has become an essential part of the modern world’s ability to grow personal, market and international connections. To enable continued benefits while reducing emissions, future aircraft will need radical redesign and novel, complementary technologies. Hydrogen aircraft are potentially the m...

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Main Authors: Gregory O’Sullivan, Andrej Bernard Horvat, Joël Jézégou, Beatriz Jiménez Carrasco, Robert André
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Aerospace
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/6/490
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author Gregory O’Sullivan
Andrej Bernard Horvat
Joël Jézégou
Beatriz Jiménez Carrasco
Robert André
author_facet Gregory O’Sullivan
Andrej Bernard Horvat
Joël Jézégou
Beatriz Jiménez Carrasco
Robert André
author_sort Gregory O’Sullivan
collection DOAJ
description Aviation has become an essential part of the modern world’s ability to grow personal, market and international connections. To enable continued benefits while reducing emissions, future aircraft will need radical redesign and novel, complementary technologies. Hydrogen aircraft are potentially the means to emissions reduction. As part of the European Union’s (EU’s) Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking (CAJU), it is aimed to have hydrogen aircraft entering into service by 2035. To realise this, it would require the certification of these aircraft in a relatively short timeline, which the CONCERTO project aims to help enable. Given the lack of mature experimental designs and pending certification processes, this endeavour is ambitious. To accelerate this, dedicated preparation for the certification through regulatory analysis should be complete, requiring initial options for technologies and aircraft operations to be defined. The technologies and operations were defined, analysed and weighted in CONCERTO, upon which a Generic Concept was made, outlined in this paper, with Level 1 on the Certification Readiness Level Scale. The aircraft systems which are likely to experience the largest changes; Fuel Storage, Fuel Distribution, Propulsion, Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), Heat Exchange (HEX) System and Sensing and Monitoring for Hydrogen (H2), will be outlined in this paper with respect to their components and integration challenges, and the subsequent changes to operations to enable this.
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institution Kabale University
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publishDate 2025-05-01
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series Aerospace
spelling doaj-art-c0b70e3d37d14ef39024fcdeb968fedb2025-08-20T03:26:20ZengMDPI AGAerospace2226-43102025-05-0112649010.3390/aerospace12060490Hydrogen Aircraft, Technologies and Operations Towards Certification Readiness Level 1Gregory O’Sullivan0Andrej Bernard Horvat1Joël Jézégou2Beatriz Jiménez Carrasco3Robert André4Pipistrel Vertical Solutions, 5270 Ajdovščina, SloveniaPipistrel Vertical Solutions, 5270 Ajdovščina, SloveniaFédération ENAC ISAE-SUPAERO ONERA, Université de Toulouse, 31400 Toulouse, FranceAirbus S.A.S., 31060 Toulouse, FranceAirbus S.A.S., 31060 Toulouse, FranceAviation has become an essential part of the modern world’s ability to grow personal, market and international connections. To enable continued benefits while reducing emissions, future aircraft will need radical redesign and novel, complementary technologies. Hydrogen aircraft are potentially the means to emissions reduction. As part of the European Union’s (EU’s) Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking (CAJU), it is aimed to have hydrogen aircraft entering into service by 2035. To realise this, it would require the certification of these aircraft in a relatively short timeline, which the CONCERTO project aims to help enable. Given the lack of mature experimental designs and pending certification processes, this endeavour is ambitious. To accelerate this, dedicated preparation for the certification through regulatory analysis should be complete, requiring initial options for technologies and aircraft operations to be defined. The technologies and operations were defined, analysed and weighted in CONCERTO, upon which a Generic Concept was made, outlined in this paper, with Level 1 on the Certification Readiness Level Scale. The aircraft systems which are likely to experience the largest changes; Fuel Storage, Fuel Distribution, Propulsion, Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), Heat Exchange (HEX) System and Sensing and Monitoring for Hydrogen (H2), will be outlined in this paper with respect to their components and integration challenges, and the subsequent changes to operations to enable this.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/6/490generic conceptprocess and information diagramhydrogen aircraftaircraft certificationliquid hydrogenaircraft safety
spellingShingle Gregory O’Sullivan
Andrej Bernard Horvat
Joël Jézégou
Beatriz Jiménez Carrasco
Robert André
Hydrogen Aircraft, Technologies and Operations Towards Certification Readiness Level 1
Aerospace
generic concept
process and information diagram
hydrogen aircraft
aircraft certification
liquid hydrogen
aircraft safety
title Hydrogen Aircraft, Technologies and Operations Towards Certification Readiness Level 1
title_full Hydrogen Aircraft, Technologies and Operations Towards Certification Readiness Level 1
title_fullStr Hydrogen Aircraft, Technologies and Operations Towards Certification Readiness Level 1
title_full_unstemmed Hydrogen Aircraft, Technologies and Operations Towards Certification Readiness Level 1
title_short Hydrogen Aircraft, Technologies and Operations Towards Certification Readiness Level 1
title_sort hydrogen aircraft technologies and operations towards certification readiness level 1
topic generic concept
process and information diagram
hydrogen aircraft
aircraft certification
liquid hydrogen
aircraft safety
url https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/6/490
work_keys_str_mv AT gregoryosullivan hydrogenaircrafttechnologiesandoperationstowardscertificationreadinesslevel1
AT andrejbernardhorvat hydrogenaircrafttechnologiesandoperationstowardscertificationreadinesslevel1
AT joeljezegou hydrogenaircrafttechnologiesandoperationstowardscertificationreadinesslevel1
AT beatrizjimenezcarrasco hydrogenaircrafttechnologiesandoperationstowardscertificationreadinesslevel1
AT robertandre hydrogenaircrafttechnologiesandoperationstowardscertificationreadinesslevel1