Project: CHoSe-Aviation: Conformable Hydrogen Storage for Aviation

To achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, aviation must drastically reduce its emissions. Hydrogen, as a climate-neutral energy source, is a possible alternative to fossil fuels. However, its efficient storage in aircraft still requires extensive research and development work.

Tank structures, which are adapted to the installation space and functionally integrated, offer promising options for storing hydrogen in the aviation sector. In previous hydrogen aircraft concepts, hydrogen is stored in close-to-spherical tanks in the aircraft fuselage, which means that the typical space in the wing for kerosene can no longer be used. With tanks adapted to the installation space, this area can be at least partially reused for fuel storage. The fuel mass thus partially goes from the fuselage to the wing, which will have an overall positive effect on the wing structural weight.

Functional integration also allows the structural loads of the aircraft to be partially carried by the tank, which saves weight in the overall wing structure. The use of existing installation space inside the wing can also reduce the fuselage surface area and thus the overall aircraft drag. The weight savings and the reduced overall aircraft drag thus reduce the aircraft's primary energy requirements.

The task of the BHL is to evaluate the potential of the space-adapted hydrogen tanks. To do this, BHL sets the requirements from the aircraft design perspective for the space-adapted hydrogen tanks. After the tank design is completed, these tanks are evaluated regarding their influence on the aircraft performance by comparing an aircraft with CHoSe tanks to conventional kerosene or hydrogen-powered alternatives.

Technical University of Munich: Chair of Carbon Composites

University of the Bundeswehr Munich