The University of Nottingham has kicked off a £5.3 million program of research to support the development, manufacture and testing of a revolutionary cryogenic hydrogen-electric propulsion system. The news was announced at the Farnborough International Airshow 2024 and is part of a pioneering £44 million project led by GKN Aerospace, in partnership with Parker Meggitt and the universities of Manchester and Nottingham, supported by the UK government through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) program.

The ATI program invests in civil aerospace research and is delivered in partnership by the Aerospace Technology Institute, the Department for Business and Trade and Innovate UK. The H2FlyGHT collaborative initiative will develop a 2-megawatt (MW) cryogenic hydrogen-electric propulsion system, setting new standards for the future generation of larger sustainable aircraft. The project will demonstrate an integrated propulsion system at the 2 MW scale, including fuel cell power generation, cryogenic power distribution and advanced cryogenic drive systems.

At the University of Nottingham, the Power Electronics, Machines and Control (PEMC) research group, which hosts one of the Driving the Electric Revolution Industrialization Centers (DER-IC), will support full motor design, scale-up and cryogenic inverter technology development—essential for creating high-power, efficient propulsion systems.

This will be one of the first programs to use the university’s new hydrogen propulsion systems facility, enabled by the recently announced £70 million secured from Research England and industry co-investment to establish open-access research facilities and programs to decarbonize future transport.

Engineers at the university will conduct this research at the new hydrogen propulsion systems facility on campus. It will feature a cryogenics lab for low temperature loops to increase electrical system efficiencies, a systems integration lab and an altitude environment chamber capable of testing a megawatt fuel cell along with battery and electrical motor systems. They will be connected to a digital twinning lab for optimizing design and operational performance.

The facility is situated next to and harnesses the high-power, 20+ MW testing capabilities of the world-leading Power Electronics and Machines Center (PEMC), home to one of the largest groups of electrification researchers. It also builds on the university’s manufacturing facilities that provide a clear route to market for new electrical machines, including at the new Zero Carbon Innovation Center funded by East Midlands Freeport.

The vision of net-zero air travel is within our sights. However, to get there, we must push the limits of what is technically possible, said Chris Gerada, professor of electrical machines and lead for strategic research and innovation initiatives at the University of Nottingham. "Thanks to our new propulsion research infrastructure on campus, industry can co-locate, research, prototype, test, automate and manufacture the new solutions they need to future-proof their business. As a result, we can accelerate the economic prosperity of the East Midlands, the home of green industries and advanced manufacturing." www.nottingham.ac.uk

Image: University of Nottingham launches £5.3 million program to enable cryogenic hydrogen-electric propulsion flight. Credit: University of Nottingham

Source: University of Nottingham