ENvironmentally Friendly Inter City Aircraft powered by Fuel Cells

Here's a project for those who are complaining about aircraft noise to
support:


EU BACKS FUEL CELL AIRCRAFT BID

The European Union has given Polytechnic of Turin, Italy, and its
11 partners about $6 million to install fuel cells and electric
motors in a variety of two-place aircraft to show it can be done.
But the real goal is to develop a 12- to 15-passenger commuter
aircraft powered by fuel cells. "Hydrogen and fuel cell power
technologies have now reached the point where they can [be]
exploited to initiate a new era of propulsion systems for light
aircraft and small commuter aircraft," says a report on the
ENvironmentally Friendly Inter City Aircraft powered by Fuel Cells
(ENFICA-FC) project's Web site
(http://www.enfica-fc.polito.it/en/presentation).
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195334

Slideshow: http://www.enfica-fc.polito.it/en/documents/slideshow

http://www.enfica-fc.polito.it
ENvironmentally Friendly Inter City Aircraft powered by Fuel Cells
(ENFICA-FC).

The ENFICA-FC project led by Politecnico di Torino and comprising
11 partners has been selected for co-funding by the European
Commission in the Aeronautics and Space priority of the Sixth
Framework Programme (FP6).

The main objective of the ENFICA-FC project is to develop and
validate the use of a fuel cell based power system for the
propulsion of more/all electric aircrafts. The fuel cell system
will be installed in a selected aircraft which will be flight and
performance tested as a proof of functionality and future
applicability for inter city aircrafts.

Through this project, the research and industrial Consortium
partners will focus on developing and providing operational
zero-pollution solutions to the immediate needs of aircraft
services.

The project will bring together key industrial and academic
players in the design and development and validation of intercity
aircraft together with fuel cell expertise for propulsion systems
and hydrogen storage. The overall budget is 4.5 M€, of which 2.9
M€ will be funded by the European Commission.

Hydrogen and fuel cell power technologies have now reached the
point where they can exploited to initiate a new era of propulsion
systems for light aircraft and small commuter aircraft. In
addition, these technologies can also be developed for the future
replacement of on-board electrical systems in larger
‘more-electric’ or ‘all-electric’ aircraft.

The primary advantages of deploying these technologies are low
noise and low emissions – features which are particularly
important for commuter airplanes that usually take-off and land
from urban areas. The possibility to takeoff and land without
contravening the noise abatement regulations set for small
airfields, in urban areas and near population centres, will allow
the use of these airfields during the late night hours when the
noise abatement regulations are even more stringent.

No other Project funded by The European Commission promises such
ambitious results which will be presented at both an on-ground
public event and at an in-flight public event within the scheduled
time.

Within the course of the 3 years ENFICA-FC project, which was
launched on the 1st of October 2006, two key objectives will be
realised:

1) A feasibility study will be carried out to provide a
preliminary definition of new forms of aircraft power systems that
can be provided by fuel cell technologies (Auxiliar Power Unit,
Primary electrical generation supply, Emergency electrical power
supply, Landing gear, De-icing system, etc); also Safety,
certification & maintenance concepts shall be defined as well as a
Life Cycle Cost evaluation.

In defining the Inter-City aircraft systems that can be powered
byv fuel cell technologies, the feasibility study will take into
account the performance improvements of future generation
fuel-cells and will thereby show the technical (and performance)
advantages that could be obtained in contrast to existing
conventional systems.

In addition, the feasibility of an all-electric propulsion
inter-city aircraft (10-15 seat), completely powered by fuel
cells, will be studied in order to assess the impact that a more
silent and less polluting aircraft will have in being able to
takeoff and land from congested urban areas using short airfields.
2) By the end of the project an electric-motor-driven two-seat
airplane powered by fuel cells will be developed and validated by
flight-test at a public event.

An existing and certified high efficiency two-seat aircraft design
will be used. The fuel cell system and the electric motor will be
integrated on board; the flight control system will also be
converted into an electric system.

A fuel cell unit and a high efficiency brushless electric motors
and power electronics apparatus for their control shall be
designed, built and tested in laboratory prior to installation on
board for flight;

Efficiency greater than 90% would be obtained by an optimised
aerodynamic propeller design and the flight mechanics study of the
new aircraft will be carried out to verify the new flight
performance.

Flight testing of the aircraft capable of remaining aloft for one
hour will be a major goal of the project to validate the overall
high performance of an all electric aircraft system.