ATR Will ‘Piggy-bank’ on Airbus for Hydrogen-fuel Technology

ATR will consider hydrogen fuel as part of its drive to improve the environmental performance of its regional airliners, though it will rely on shareholders Airbus and Leonardo to research and develop the technology. “We will be ‘piggy-banking’ on our big shareholders,” ATR CEO Stefano Bortoli said during a briefing at the turboprop manufacturer’s Toulouse headquarters. “We are very pragmatic. We are a company with a staff of 1,200; we do not have 1,000 engineers to dedicate to R&D; we do not have the big labs or large test rigs,” he explained. ATR will consider “every” technology, including hybrid-electric, that reduces CO2 emissions and integrate it onto its platform, as long as it proves “available and affordable,” Bertoli insisted.

Under a project called ZEROe, Airbus has begun developing three concepts for a zero-emission, hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft that could enter service by 2035. One of the designs centers on a twin-turboprop powered by hydrogen combustion in modified gas-turbine engines that could seat up to 100 passengers and fly to a projected range of up to around 1,000 nm.

The hydrogen solution has to be assessed, ATR chief engineer Daniel Cuchet corroborated, though he cautioned that the Airbus colleagues haven’t yet determined the best pathway for hydrogen use. Moreover, hydrogen might not work for ATR. “We are not building an aircraft for engineers,” he remarked. “Our customers want a robust, affordable, and versatile aircraft. Not all our operators would be interested in using hydrogen because it is not feasible for them, for economic reasons or because the relevant hydrogen infrastructure will not be in place. Many of our aircraft land on unpaved runways on remote islands.”

Until the hydrogen technology is mature, blending and eventually replacing conventional fossil-based kerosene with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a “good short-term solution,” Cuchet asserted. All ATR aircraft have earned certification to fly with a 50/50 blend, and the company aims to gain certification for 100 percent SAF usage by 2025.