GKN Aerospace is to develop and test a cryogenic liquid hydrogen fuel system as part of an industry consortium in the UK called HyFIVE.
The HyFIVE consortium aims to develop and test scalable liquid hydrogen fuel system technologies, culminating in a fully integrated hydrogen fuel system ground demonstration. The other partners in the HyFIVE consortium are Marshall, Parker Meggitt the University of Manchester, University of Bath, and Cardiff University.
The UK Government is funding half of the £40 million (US$50 million) three-year program through the Aerospace Technology Institute with the other half being coming from industry.
GKN Aerospace will provide expertise in cryogenic hydrogen systems technology and aircraft structures, while Marshall and Parker Meggitt will focus on fuel systems development. Meanwhile, Marshall has experience in fuel system design and integration, while Parker Meggitt has expertise in fuel system components and thermal management technologies.
The consortium aims to address key technical, safety, certification, and industrialization challenges associated with hydrogen fuel systems in aviation.
GKN called the HyFIVE consortium a significant milestone in its vision to establish a robust cryogenic hydrogen systems supply chain for future aircraft.
Max Brown, vice president of technology at GKN Aerospace said, “The HyFIVE liquid hydrogen fuel system program will complement our existing world-leading hydrogen electric propulsion program, H2GEAR.
“We greatly respect the fuel system capability Marshall and Parker bring to the table, and believe we now have a robust path to delivering the technology and supply chain required for hydrogen regional aircraft and beyond.”
By 2027 HyFIVE plans to have:
- developed and validated an integrated family of mature fuel system technologies and capabilities conducive to certification
- conducted ground demonstration (TRL 6) of an integrated fuel system encompassing the storage, conveyance, indication, venting and fuelling systems
- opened a range of flight demonstration and exploitation paths with prospective customers
- and developed a customer-ready supply chain and industrialisation strategy.
