Fuel Cells In Airliners?

   I, probably like you, figured that fuel cells—when feasible—would be for small cars and maybe very small airplanes, but certainly not in jumbo jets. Could be we were wrong.   The March 2009 issue of Smithsonian’s Air & Space magazine, a publication much respected and admired, included an article titled “Flying Fuel Cells,†in which it was reported that a Super Dimona aircraft was flown using a fuel cell. The Dimona is, of course, a small plane, so how did I leap from there to jumbo jets? The article explained it all.   In the Dimona, the fuel cell ran an electric motor that actually turned the propeller (there was also a battery that helped on takeoff).   But, you might say, jumbo jets don’t even have propellers. Right you are, but Boeing conducted this flight. (The tiny Dimona had “Boeing†painted on the cowl. Talk about something that could cause rumors!) As Boeing points out, a cell that can spin a prop could instead spin a generator that might provide all of the electrical power the jumbo uses.   Currently a small fraction of power from the jet engines and/or an APU is used for generators that run onboard lighting and other systems. Fuel cells would run cleaner and save fuel, which would save weight and thus save even more fuel. The jumbo jet would thus save money and be “greener†as well. That’s a win-win improvement in today’s world. (Just last week cometh from the Wall Street Journal a “News Alert†informing me that the EPA found that “carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose a danger to the public, setting the stage for a battle over regulations that could have a far-reaching impact on the U.S. economy.â€)   Ah, and, as mentioned before in this BLOG, P&W is working on a geared turbofan (they have already sold some of these engines for future airliners) that will save even more fuel and also lower carbon dioxide emissions.   But wait! There’s more! Engineers at other companies are improving LEDs so that they can replace the lights in airliner interiors and maybe even the landing lights. That would save more fuel which would mean a lighter takeoff which would save even more fuel.   Ain’t the free market wonderful?   We’d love to publish your comments. Please click the comment tab at the top.