Prospects for Hydrogen Aircraft

The prospects for hydrogen-fueled transport aircraft are seen to be good. It is imperative that an alternate to Jet A be developed. This petroleum-base fuel currently used in commercial transports will become increasingly unavailable and costly as the world’s crude oil supply is depleted. Liquid hydrogen has been shown to be a very attractive candidate based on theory and analysis. A research and development program, currently being formulated, is needed to provide a practical basis for judging the merits of LH₂ in comparison with liquid methane and synthetic Jet A.