EasyJet, British low-cost airline carrier based at London Luton Airport (LTN), has unveiled plans for a revolutionary zero emissions hydrogen fuel system for its aircraft which could save around 50,000 tonnes of fuel and the associated CO2 emissions per year. A trial of the technology is set to take place later this year.
EasyJet’s new technology would mean its planes could taxi to runways without using jet engines. Passengers could even be served water created as a waste product from hydrogen batteries used in the fuel system.
Currently, after being pushed back from the gate by a tug, an aircraft uses its main engines (jets or propellers) to taxi to the runway.
EasyJet estimates that the 20-or-so minutes of taxiing per journey accounts for about 4% of its annual jet fuel consumption. Replacing the energy spent on those precious 20 minutes with a sustainable alternative will have a major impact.
Jet fuel is expensive and produces a ton of carbon dioxide, and thus EasyJet is looking at alternative ways of puttering around the taxiway.
The new technology, which involves a fuel cell capturing energy from the aircraft’s brakes when it lands, would also help reduce carbon emissions.
EasyJet’s system would be similar to the kinetic energy recovery system in Formula One engines, which converts energy generated during braking into electricity that drivers can use to accelerate.
EasyJet calculates only 85% of a flight’s time is actually spent flying. The remaining 15% of time is spent on the ground, whether loading and unloading passengers or moving a plane into position to take off.
Replacing jet fuel-burning engines with almost any alternative for this small part of the flight process could save an estimated 77,000 gallons of jet fuel a year — per plane!
According to EasyJet’s model, somewhere in the middle of the plane there would be a giant hydrogen fuel cell – probably something similar in scale to the 150kW fuel cells being used by buses in London and a few other cities around the world.
The hydrogen cells would capture energy from the aircraft breaking on landing, and would charge lightweight batteries when the plane is on the ground, negating the aircraft’s need to use jet fuel when taxiing.
If all EasyJet planes use the new hybrid system instead of their jet engines to move around an airport, the low-cost carrier would cut its fuel bill by between $25m and $35m, depending on the oil price, EasyJet calculated.
EasyJet head of engineering Ian Davies said:
“At EasyJet, we are continuing to apply the use of new digital and engineering technologies across the airline.”
Ian Davies called the hybrid plane concept a “vision of the future.”
About 4 percent of EasyJet’s total annual fuel consumption is used in taxiing at airports, Davies said.
“If we can taxi at the end of the runway without starting engines, the whole experience will change at the airport. They’ll be more quiet, more pollution-free, and more socially responsible as well,” EasyJet head of engineering added.
“People use water on board for flushing toilets and washing their hands. We said, ‘if there’s a way we can utilize (the water byproduct from the cells), let’s do it.’ We’re looking at a no-waste solution,” said Ian Davies.
To power the aircraft during taxiing, each aircraft would have power motors fitted in their main wheels.
The system would produce purified water that could be drunk or used in toilets.
EasyJet has targeted a 7% cut in its CO2 emissions (currently 81 grams a passenger kilometre) by 2020, and claims its relatively young fleet and full planes already mean its passengers have a significantly lower carbon footprint than traditional, full-service airlines.
EasyJet operates domestic and international scheduled flights on over 700 routes in 32 countries, and is the largest UK airline by number of passengers carried.
EasyJet has an all-Airbus fleet consisting of 221 aircraft.
