HyperSolar predicts a boom in demand for hydrogen technology and power after a successful test of a hydrogen powered plane in the Middle East.
A group of researchers at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) conducted the fuel cell powered flight, taking place in the United Arab Emirate and Gulf Cooperation Council regions.
The plane cruised comfortably during flight duration of approximately ten minutes, powered only by a Proton Exchange Membrane hydrogen fuel cell (PEMFC). The team will now look to pursue further tests related to payload capacity, endurance, and the ability to fly autonomously.
In the commercial space, the US Patent and Trademark Office just awarded a patent to Airbus for a hypersonic passenger plane. The jet is designed to utilise rocket engines to propel to supersonic speeds, where hydrogen-powered wing mounted ramjets would engage to propel the jet to its destination. While still under development, the plane could potentially fly from New York to London in an hour, and from Paris to Tokyo in under three hours.
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