In a modern-day incarnation of the Wright brothers' famous first flight, the world's first piloted hydrogen-fuel-cell aircraft was successfully tested in Hamburg today. The Antares DLR-H2, developed by the German Aerospace Center, took off and landed on its own power generated solely from hydrogen fuel cells.

Andreas Friedrich of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) spoke to Newsline from the airport runway in Hamburg.

"We have just had a successful maiden flight at the airport in Hamburg. Everything went smoothly, and we had quite good weather, no rain, not so much wind, so it was perfect flying conditions."

Clean and Efficient
Hydrogen-fuel-cell technology is a possible solution to the global warming consequences of the aviation industry. Fuel-cell engines are increasingly efficient and far cleaner than combustion engines.

"Fuel cells convert chemical energy directly into electrical energy, and so it has a very high efficiency compared to the combustion engine. A normal combustion engine has an efficiency of about 23 percent and here our Antares has an efficiency of 45 percent."

If the hydrogen used in the fuel cells is made using renewable energy, then the Antares is a plane with zero CO2 emissions. Some say water vapour may also be a greenhouse gas, but Dr Friedrich says the amount of water vapour released is insignificant.

The technology won't be ready for commercial use until 2018. It must first pass stringent reliability requirements before it can be used in passenger aircraft. Dr Friedrich says studies show hydrogen fuel cells would be economically viable because the engine's by-product, water, could serve several functions.

For more information, visit the German Aerospace Center's website.
For more environmental news, listen to RNW's Earthbeat.

Photos courtesy of the German Aerospace Center