Energy Analysis of Fleet Operations using Green Liquid Hydrogen and Synthetic Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Abstract

Aircraft designs are changing more rapidly than ever, due to the disruptive technology revolution required to curb harmful emissions, and meet stringent climate targets. As a result, the role of conceptual design tools is evolving, shifting away from the tried-and-tested empirical models and theoretical design missions, to rapid, low-fidelity physics-based models that can accurately assess a range of unconventional, aircraft designs. This study presents an innovative conceptual design methodology, based on advanced conceptual design techniques observed in recent years, which enables the rapid assessment of novel technologies on a real-world airline operation schedule. An automated simulation framework was developed to accurately model real-world flights, incorporating actual take-off weights and flight paths, followed by a validation and calibration of this simulation framework to ensure accuracy with respect to real flight data. Using the novel methodology, a comparative energy analysis was performed, measuring the ‘well-to-wake’ energy consumption of fleet operations, when powered using green liquid hydrogen (LH2) and synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF), both which are produced using 100% renewable electricity. Despite significant in-flight performance penalties, substantial ‘well-to-wake’ energy savings could be achieved for hydrogen aircraft, which may be desirable to reduce operating costs, and the significant strain placed on renewable electricity resources. Furthermore, it was found that a tank gravimetric efficiency of 50% was sufficient for superior energy performance of hydrogen aircraft against all e-SAF scenarios, highlighting the potential of green hydrogen to minimise the energy demand and operating cost of short-haul operations in the context of decarbonisation.