Airbus strengthens its presence in the UK with the launch of the Zero Emissions Development Center (ZEDC – Zero Emissions Development CenterHydrogen Technologies.

A priority for ZEDC in the UK will be to develop a cost-competitive refrigerated fuel system necessary to successfully enter Airbus ZEROe passenger aircraft by 2035 and to accelerate UK skills and know-how in hydrogen propulsion technologies.

ZEDC UK will build on the UK government’s recent commitment to secure £685 million in funding for the Aerospace Institute of Technology (ATI) over the next three years to support the development of ultra-low, zero-emission aircraft technologies.

“The establishment of ZEDC in the UK expands Airbus’ in-house industrial capabilities to design, develop, test and manufacture cryogenic hydrogen storage tanks and related systems for Project Zero in Airbus’ four home countries. This, combined with our partnership with ATI, will allow us to leverage our own expertise to achieve The potential of hydrogen technology to support the decarbonization of the aviation industry.” said Sabine Kluck, Technical Director of Airbus.

Technology development has begun at the new UK ZEDC, based in Felton, Bristol, and will cover all product features from components to complete system and refrigeration testing. The development of comprehensive fuel systems, a specialty of Airbus UK, is one of the most complex and critical technologies for hydrogen aircraft performance in the future.

ZEDC complements Airbus’ research and technology presence in the UK, as well as work on cryogenic liquid hydrogen tanks being performed at ZEDCs located at Airbus in Madrid, Spain and Stade, Germany (combined hull technologies), and in Nantes, France, and Bremen, Germany (combined hull technologies) metallic).

All Airbus ZEDCs are expected to be fully operational and ready for ground testing with the first fully functional cryogenic hydrogen tank in 2023 and with flight tests beginning in 2026.

Airbus information