Not to be outdone by Airbus (which landed a fuel cell-equipped A320 at ILA2008 on Monday), Boeing has shown-up at Berlin with a fuel cell-powered light aircraft demonstrating, for the first time, that a manned aircraft can maintain straight and level flight with fuel cells as the only power source.
The PEM fuel cell system used on the flight demonstrator (an Austrian-built and Spanish registered Diamond Dimona motor glider) was designed and built by UK-based Intelligent Energy. With a wingspan of 16.3metres (53.5ft) the aircraft is able to cruise at around 100kph (62 mph) using only fuel cell-provided power.
The systems-integration phase of the fuel cell demonstrator airplane research project, underway since 2003 at Boeing Research & Technology, Europe (BR&TE) was completed recently and the flight test phase is now under way.
Boeing’s demonstrator uses a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell/lithium-ion battery hybrid system to power an electric motor that is coupled to a conventional propeller. During take-off and climb, the system draws on lightweight lithium-ion batteries while the fuel cell creates all power during cruise.
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Source: Flight Daily News
