AMSL Aero founders Andrew Moore and Siobhan Lyndon with their electric aircraft Vertiia. Credit Peter Morris/sydneyheads.com
Australian company, AMSL Aero, is launching a new hydrogen-powered aircraft into the skies! This exciting technology could help the airline industry reach net zero carbon production by 2050. In fact, the Australian government has just published a national strategy on how hydrogen can help the entire country reach net zero.
Note: Scientists and politicians often use the phrase “net zero” when talking about climate change, but what does it mean? The “zero” means zero increase in greenhouse gases in the air. To get to net zero, we need to make less greenhouse gases, and also we need to take greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. “Net” means these two solutions add up to zero change overall.
Used as rocket fuel, hydrogen is a lightweight gas that stores a lot of energy. Better yet, using hydrogen as fuel doesn’t give off any greenhouse gases. ASML Aero have designed a new hydrogen-powered aircraft that makes zero greenhouse gases. And it could be carrying passengers long distances as soon as 2027.
“We see hydrogen as a game changer for us to allow that longer range of 1,000 kilometres non-stop,” says Siobhan Lyndon, co-founder of AMSL Aero. This is over six times further than similar aircraft powered by electric batteries.
AMSL Aero’s Vertiia aircraft takes off like a helicopter but flies like a plane. Credit: AMSL Aero
Hydrogen can be made by splitting water (H2O) into hydrogen and oxygen using a device called an electrolyser. The electrolyser needs a lot of electricity to make hydrogen, but this could come from renewable sources, like wind and solar. Using renewable sources to make hydrogen fuel is what makes AMSL Aero’s Vertiia carbon neutral.
The Australian government is taking renewable hydrogen a step further by planning how this fuel could help the entire country go carbon neutral. A key part of the strategy is using hydrogen to make wind and solar more consistent.
One of the big problems with wind and solar is that they make electricity in bursts. Sometimes wind and solar generate extra energy above what’s needed, but sometimes they produce less.
Here’s where hydrogen comes in: when wind and solar make extra energy, this electricity can power electrolysers that make hydrogen. Later, when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing, we could use that hydrogen to make electricity. This way, everyone gets the electricity they need, and it all comes from renewable sources!
Renewable hydrogen harnesses wind and solar power to make fuel. Credit: ©iStock.com/Scharfsinn86
Renewable hydrogen is exciting, but a lot still needs to happen before we can use it to reach net zero. There are technology challenges to solve, like making electrolysers more efficient and storing large amounts of hydrogen. We need to build hydrogen storage tanks and large networks of pipes to move it around. We also need to educate enough people on how to work with hydrogen.
The new National Hydrogen Strategy outlines solutions to these challenges. They reckon that a shared effort could see Australia meet net zero by 2050 and even sell extra hydrogen to other countries. This strategy is all about setting Australia up to become a renewable energy superpower!
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