Full throttle on sustainable air travel
A small aircraft that’s the result of big ambitions! AeroDelft is a team of students with one mission: to prove that aviation can be sustainable. To this end, they are developing the Phoenix – a manned aircraft fuelled by liquid hydrogen. Since the emissions are all water and heat, we can say goodbye to flight shame.
By Jurjen Slump • October 25, 2023
© AeroDelft
The team is aiming for the Phoenix to take off with liquid hydrogen in two years’ time. But a number of technical challenges still need to be resolved before this can happen. An important intermediate step is flying on gaseous hydrogen. This will provide a lot of useful information for the ultimate goal.
The aircraft is an existing model, a Sling 4, which can carry two persons. This will be converted into an electric aircraft that will run on a hydrogen cell. A tank carrying 10 kilograms of liquid hydrogen will allow the Phoenix to fly from Amsterdam to London.
It's not only the technical challenges that are being resolved, the team is also collaborating on drawing up international guidelines for the certification of hydrogen propulsion systems. Safety first!
In developing the Phoenix, the AeroDelft team’s aim is to accelerate change in the aviation industry, which is why they’re working with established partners such as KLM, Airbus and of course TU Delft.
The university is also committed to the cause of sustainable flight by 2050. TU Delft Campus is home to an extensive cluster of field labs, student teams, businesses and knowledge institutions that together are going full throttle to make sustainable air travel possible. Ready for take-off!
