Today you can fly from European countries to Australia in about 20 hours. A hypersonic aircraft is capable of reducing the flight time to four.
At least that’s what the Swiss company Destinus claims, which plans to use a hydrogen-powered hypersonic passenger aircraft.
It has been testing hyperaircraft prototypes for several years now, and reported successful test flights of its second Eiger prototype late last year.
Destinus recently announced its participation in a program run by the Spanish Ministry of Science as part of the government’s plan to develop hydrogen-powered supersonic flight.
The Center for Technological and Industrial Development, which oversees the ministerial program, has selected the project as a strategic initiative under its PTA (Aeronautical Technology Plan).
The volume of investments in the project is 12 million euros, companies and technology centers, Spanish universities are involved in it. Destinus Vice President of Business and Product Development Davide Bonetti said:
“We are delighted to have received these grants, especially as they are a clear sign that Destinus is aligned with Spain and Europe’s strategic direction to promote hydrogen flight. For deep technology companies like ours, access to these recovery funds EU is needed to conduct cutting-edge research and accelerate the innovation needed to ensure global competitiveness. With these grants, hydrogen-powered aviation mobility solutions will be one step closer to becoming a reality.”
Hydrogen energy is the subject of numerous studies and developments. Its supporters primarily note environmental friendliness, since the main by-products of hydrogen combustion are heat and water.
The amount of heat generated is a design challenge.
Researchers at the Royal Melbourne University of Technology (RMIT) have recently developed 3D printed catalysts that they say can enable hypersonic flight and act as a cooling agent to combat the extreme heat generated when an aircraft flies at up to 5 times its speed. sound, that is, about 6100 kilometers per hour. At these speeds, future commercial airlines will be able to fly between London and New York in about 90 minutes.
Swiss Destinus claims that thanks to its technology, a flight from Frankfurt to Sydney will take no more than 4 hours 15 minutes, and from Frankfurt to Shanghai – 2 hours 45 minutes, which is 8 hours faster than now.
Last June, the company partnered with Spanish engine manufacturer ITP Aero to set up a hydrogen engine test center. A grant from the Spanish government will finance the construction of a test facility near Madrid – where hydrogen engines “breathing” air will be tested.
The second grant project, worth 15 million euros, will fund research into aspects of power plants that run on liquid hydrogen.
This project, among others, highlights Spain’s ambition to be at the forefront of the development and production of hydrogen vehicles in a number of sectors, writes euronews.
