Airbus finds motor supplier for its zero-emission hydrogen-powered aircraft

Airbus intends to launch a commercial zero-emission hydrogen-powered aircraft on the market by around 2035. For this ambitious plan, the aircraft has recently selected the company that will supply the hydrogen engine.

According to a report on FlightGlobal, Nidec Leroy-Somer, part of the Japanese-based Nidec Group, is to develop the motor for a planned prototype hydrogen-powered engine. The design, engineering and prototype work on the innovative motor will be carried out in France, at the company’s Angeouleme facility.

The assignment for Nidec Leroy-Somer: build a prototype of the hydrogen engine that meets meet high safety, reliability, power and efficiency requirements while remaining at the lowest weight. Although there is no official timeline for the project, it is clear that, after a phase of lab-scale development, initial ground-based testing will validate the technology before the project moves to in-flight testing.