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ArtifexCrastinus t1_jaq122t wrote

A short proof of concept flight with one hydrogen-powered engine and one soon-to-be-outdated ICE (for flight safety and comparison). The hydrogen-fueled engine was less noisy and produced less vibrations. They've developed a retrofit kit to use with existing planes and fuel-capsules that ship on existing infrastructure. Sounds like the tech was developed in France, but it's being pre-ordered by many companies arpubd the world. I wonder what pressure we can use to for our local airlines to get on the list?

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blisstaker t1_jaq9er2 wrote

if it is 100x less noisy it doesn’t matter, all that will matter to companies is the price and overall operating costs. that’s the pressure we would need, whether from the government, the market, or the consumers

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SiTheGreat t1_jaqe3hu wrote

Aircraft noise reduction is actually a pretty big area of research by aviation companies due to noise regulations. Aircraft noise levels limit things like aircraft traffic, takeoff weight, airport zoning etc, so finding ways to reduce it means more money in their pockets.

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elatedwalrus t1_jaqym8e wrote

Theyre looking for ways to reduce noise without losing money otherwise tho. Hydrogen powered planes have now room for passengers so it probably wouldn’t work. Hydrogen is also very hard to keep from leaking. Ever hear about how much methane leaks from our natural gas lines? Hydrogen does that but much worse. And its much more flammable

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bactatank13 t1_jaqemif wrote

> what pressure we can use to for our local airlines to get on the list?

When they resolve the energy problem regarding hydrogen. What government need to do now is continue to fund and pressure R&D into Green Air Travel. Personally I think we are at least two decades from scalable green air travel. Half of the time will be spent on researching and the other half will be spent proving to everyone it is as safe as ICE. The latter being the hardest part.

" 18 gigawatt-hours every day, equivalent to the full production of one typical nuclear plant of 900 MW. If, to ensure that hydrogen production actually reduces carbon emissions, the electricity is produced through solar power, 44 square kilometers of solar panels would be needed—a footprint representing three times the entire surface area of the Orly airport itself. " source:https://www.kearney.com/transportation-travel/article/-/insights/aviations-hydrogen-the-airport-challenge

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Firm_Bison_2944 t1_javclhj wrote

We developed scalable green air travel a long time ago... Dirigibles (zeppelins, blimps). The hindenburg just scared everyone off. These days you gotta watch out for F22s though.

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bactatank13 t1_jawxok3 wrote

Neither of those are scalable because their speed and space. Electric air taxis are more economically plausible.

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Jimmy-Pesto-Jr t1_jaqqx27 wrote

i wonder if they used compressed gaseous hydrogen, or used an unpressurized liquid fuel like methanol for higher energy density

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Flavor_Nukes t1_javu4z8 wrote

I wouldn't be so sure. There are still some massive tech problems to finish out before it's even viable to run both engines with. Pressurization and anti ice are both huge problems. In 99% of airliners, pressurization and anti ice bleed air is coming off the high pressure section of the turbine compressor section. Also electrical and hydraulic power. All currently come off drive generators from the turbines. Making the flip to hydrogen will take a massive amount of engineering to overcome some pretty glaring problems. Theres a long way to go still.

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asdaaaaaaaa t1_jaqow6v wrote

>I wonder what pressure we can use to for our local airlines to get on the list?

The real issue is setting up and affording the more boring stuff I'd imagine, infrastructure/training for fueling and maintenance, possibly being certified if they're not already. Those things are nice, but we don't choose fuel types because they're a bit quieter, we go with what's stable, available and cheap. If it provides multiple benefits along with better cost, I don't see why companies wouldn't switch eventually.

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