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A 48-seat zero-emission regional aircraft
Zero-emission area aircraft using liquid hydrogen fuel systems
Type
Equipment
Tags
With case study
Applicable industry
Transportation
Energy
Case studies
2023 Boeing Sustainability Report
Future hydrogen energy industry
Potential climate benefits
Zero CO2 emissions and zero NOx emissions
Solution supplier
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GKN
GKN
British Airways helps planes fly farther, faster and greener
Solution details

Our trade-off studies show that equipped with GKN liquid hydrogen fuel system, fuel cell power system, optimized electrical networks and cryogenic motor drive technology, this 48-seat concept aircraft will have a range of 934 nautical miles (covering approximately 99.9% of turboprop routes and approximately 90% of the regional jet market*)。The aircraft will have zero CO2 emissions and zero NOx emissions, and the only by-product will be water. Water emitted by aircraft can form trails, but GKN's smart emission system reduces this. A low-noise electric fan module will produce lower noise pollution compared to an equivalent kerosene power unit. One of the key challenges facing hydrogen-electric propulsion systems is thermal management. Fuel cell-based systems cannot exhaust the vast majority of waste heat into the exhaust stream like gas turbines do. Technology must be able to effectively dissipate or utilize heat without adding too much drag or mass to the aircraft. Improving the inherent efficiency of fuel cells and integrating GKN's cryogenic motor drive and cryogenic electrical network technology have greatly reduced the quality of the entire system.

Last updated
11:00:16, Nov 06, 2025
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