It is quite likely that the future of aviation lies in hydrogen propulsion. Excitingly, this future may well be written in the Moravian capital in the East of the Czech Republic. The European Union and a consortium led by Honeywell have launched projects worth almost 200 million EUR at the Brno research centre.

The aim of the two major projects, for which Honeywell will bring fifty top engineers and scientists from around the world to Brno, is greener air transport. Under the umbrella of the EU's Clean Aviation programme, scientists will work on two major projects to reduce the carbon footprint of the aviation industry.

The NEWBORN project will research and develop a new generation of hydrogen fuel cells for efficient aviation. Their goal is to develop a megawatt hydrogen-powered aviation propulsion system whose only emission after combustion will be pure water vapour. The research involves collaboration between eighteen partners from ten European countries.

The second challenge facing the consortium of Honeywell and other partners is the development of thermal management components and architecture for hybrid electric aircraft roughly comparable in size to the Boeing 737 or smaller regional jets.

The presence of such a ground-braking project on the Czech soil only confirms the long-standing notion that the country has what it takes to become a key international hub for innovation and engineering excellence.

Source: Forbes CZ