Oil & Gas

The unveiling of the largest hydrogen fuel cell project for aircraft, supported by significant government funding, has sparked discussions about the feasibility of hydrogen in aviation.

The project aims to develop and demonstrate a prototype of a massive 4 MW fuel cell propulsion system for aviation, making it the largest project of its kind globally, with a targeted completion within 5 years. Japan's second research project, receiving 4.1 billion yen ($26.7 million), aims to enable the use of hydrogen fuel cell propulsion systems in aircraft with 80 or more seats by 2031.

This initiative is part of Japan's commitment to provide a total of 17.3 billion yen ($110 million) for two hydrogen research projects. It follows a recent announcement of a $33 billion program by the Japanese government to develop a domestically made regional low-carbon aircraft powered by "next-generation" technology, including hydrogen.

Experts have expressed skepticism about the feasibility of using pure hydrogen as a fuel for long-distance aviation due to its relatively low energy density and limited onboard storage space. However, Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has allocated about 13.2 billion yen ($85.8 million) to develop and test a 4-megawatt fuel cell by 2029.

The aim is to develop a 4 MW fuel cell electric propulsion system using liquid hydrogen, reaching technical readiness level 6. This level signifies that a prototype has been built and tested in an operational environment, preparing for the pilot phase of development.