Airbus partners with RWTH Aachen on fuel cell for regional aircraft
Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is advancing its vision of hydrogen-based aviation through a new research project with partners. Dubbed ZeroE, this initiative was first introduced by Airbus in 2020 and most recently updated with new details in March 2025.
According to Airbus, hydrogen is initially suited for short- and medium-haul aircraft with 100 to 200 seats and a range of 1,000 to 2,000 nautical miles, equivalent to 1,850 to 3,700 kilometres. During its initial presentation in 2020, Airbus targeted 2035 for the introduction of such fuel-cell-powered aircraft. However, due to general delays, the deprioritisation of ZeroE within the company’s strategy, and the multi-year certification processes in aviation, 2040 now appears to be a more realistic timeline.
The new project, ‘GENtwoPRO,’ funded under the aviation research programme ‘LuFo VII-1’ by the German government’s Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), does not aim to develop a complete hydrogen-powered aircraft. Instead, it focuses on one of its core components: the fuel cell system, which converts hydrogen into electrical energy to power an aircraft engine.
Currently available fuel cell systems on the market are primarily designed for lorries and buses, not for the dynamic and safety-critical demands of aviation. “In order to make hydrogen usable as an energy source in aviation, fuel cell systems must not only be powerful, but also durable, scalable, and qualified,” said Prof. Achim Kampker, Head of PEM.
Specifically, the project aims to develop an LT-PEM (Low-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell system tailored to the unique requirements of aviation. Such systems operate at relatively low temperatures, typically between 60°C and 90°C. The advantage: they require no lengthy warm-up phases. The system is almost instantly ready for use (‘cold start’ capability), which is critical for safety manoeuvres in aviation, such as a sudden go-around.
Additionally, LT-PEM cells are highly compact. Since weight is the most critical factor in aviation, this system excels due to its outstanding power-to-weight ratio. A key focus of the project is to further increase power density through innovative stack designs, such as thinner bipolar plates, to achieve the megawatt outputs required for 100-seater aircraft without excessive additional weight.
In addition to Airbus, the ‘GENtwoPRO’ project involves Aerostack (a fuel cell joint venture between Airbus and ElringKlinger), TLK-Thermo, the German Aerospace Centre (DLR), TU Braunschweig, and the RWTH PEM chair.
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