The University of Bath is to work with a firm developing zero-emission aircraft engines as it continues to strengthen its reputation as a major centre for research into the use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel.
The three-year project is linking academics from the university with hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrain manufacturer ZeroAvia, which is looking to retrofit turboprop engines on commercial planes.
ZeroAvia, which is based at Cotswold Airport (formerly RAF Kemble) near Cirencester, is already gaining interest from the aviation sector as it strives to find greener alternatives to combusting hydrocarbon fuel.
Following the award of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) grant from Innovate UK, experts from the university will work alongside ZeroAvia to improve the understanding of the aerodynamic impacts of retrofitting turboprop aircraft with hydrogen fuel cells and electric motors.
The project will draw on the university’s extensive experience in develop state-of-the-art modelling and experimental capabilities to rapidly and accurately predict the performance of aircraft with the hydrogen-electric powertrain.
This will help ZeroAvia optimise future powertrain designs and may also offer significant energy savings over the lifetime of aircraft.
The partnership will focus on thermal management and the integration of cooling systems into aircraft while minimising impact to aircraft drag. It will also consider fuel types and storage impacts on aircraft structure and fairings.
ZeroAvia head of aircraft integration and testing Gabriele Teofili said: “We anticipate benefiting greatly from the broad knowledge base that the university brings to the project as well as their deep technical understanding of numerical and experimental characterisation of aircraft.”
Under the terms of the KTP, an associate from the university will work at ZeroAvia for 33 months.
They will be supervised by a university team led by Professor of Sustainable Propulsion and Power Carl Sangan, along with lecturer in hydrogen fuel cells and electrified propulsion Dr Tom Fletcher, Dr Sam Bull, an expert in unsteady aerodynamics, flow control and novel airframe testing, and Dr Mauro Carnevale, a specialist in computational fluid dynamics.
Prof Sangan, pictured, said: “We are delighted to be able to partner with ZeroAvia and share our expertise on what is a vital step towards the ambitions of the aviation industry in achieving the goal of zero-emission flight.
“The KTP affords us an excellent opportunity to deliver real world impact within a sector undergoing revolutionary change.”
The university’s Enterprise and Entrepreneurship programme offers a range of development and collaboration opportunities, including support for start-ups, consultancy, access to expert research networks, and KTPs, which aim to stimulate innovation by providing industry-based training and development of talented university graduates, including postgraduates.
Last month the university and its Institute for Advanced Automotive Propulsion Systems (IAAPS) were selected as strategic partners in a £12.7m initiative to make clean hydrogen-fuelled buses a reality – helping support hundreds of jobs and saving millions of tonnes of CO2.
Last December IAAPS launched a strategic partnership with aircraft parts manufacturer GKN Aerospace to develop and validate novel hydrogen technology to help decarbonisation the aviation industry.
