Imagine a plane that uses a mix of traditional jet fuel and hydrogen to fly, making it much quieter and cleaner. It also uses a fuel cell 'battery' to move around the airport on the ground without burning any fuel at all. This allows airlines to reduce pollution without needing to completely redesign the shape of the plane.
Aviation faces increasing pressure to reduce noise and emissions, but switching to 100% hydrogen requires expensive aircraft redesigns and risky storage solutions.
An integrated propulsion design featuring multi-fuel UHBR turbofans, a fuel cell-based auxiliary power unit (FC-APPU), and an aft boundary layer ingestion propulsor.
If you are an OEM dealing with strict new noise and emission laws — this project developed a multi-fuel propulsion system that reduces LTO NOx and CO by 50% and soot by 80%. This allows you to upgrade existing tube-wing aircraft designs without a total airframe overhaul.
If you are an airline dealing with high airport fees and environmental taxes — this project developed a fuel cell-based auxiliary unit for zero-emission taxiing. This reduces the climate impact by 30% compared to 2020 technology.
If you are an engine maker dealing with the risk of switching entirely to hydrogen — this project developed a multi-fuel combustion technology burning H2 and kerosene/SAF. This reduces the amount of hydrogen storage needed and prevents combustion instabilities.
Based on available project data, specific pricing or cost figures are not provided, though the project aims to assess the cost benefits of reduced noise and emissions.
The project is currently in the modeling and experimental phase, aiming to demonstrate multi-fuel combustion for the first time, meaning it is not yet at full industrial scale.
Based on available project data, there is no specific information regarding the IP or licensing strategy for the developed propulsion system.
The system targets a 50% reduction in LTO NOx and CO, and an 80% reduction in soot compared to 2020 state-of-the-art technology.
The system is designed for tube-wing aircraft configurations, avoiding substantial changes to the aircraft planform to allow for faster integration.
The consortium is a balanced mix of 6 partners across 5 countries (DE, IT, NL, SE, UK). With a 33% industry ratio (including 2 SMEs), the project blends academic research from 3 universities with industrial application, ensuring that the technical developments in hydrogen propulsion are grounded in commercial aircraft requirements.
Contact the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft) regarding the HOPE propulsion system.
Contact SciTransfer for detailed technical dossiers on multi-fuel combustion and fuel cell APPU integration.
