Liquid Hydrogen Taking Flight – The Key Research Challenges to Enabling Liquid Hydrogen Commercial Aircraft
by Huw Edwards of Aerospace Technology Institute

An overview of the key research challenges to enabling liquid hydrogen commercial aircraft and the activities within the Hydrogen Capability Network to address these.

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Metrology for Magnetic Materials at Operational Conditions
by Daniel Brunt of NPL

The push towards electrification and greener technologies will see an unprecedented uptake in electric machines and subsequently magnetic materials. To achieve the greatest efficiencies, it’s imperative to have accurate data at conditions representative of those under operation. In this presentation I give an overview of the work we’re doing to take measurements from standard lab-based measurements and perform them at operational conditions, including measurements down to cryogenic temperatures.

Electric Machines in High Power Propulsion Systems - Applications, Challenges and Potential
by Rafal Sokolowski of Astron Systems Ltd

Building on an architecture designed to maximise system lifetime and reusability, Astron Systems have built and tested high power non-superconducting electric machines to power rocket engines. CTO Rafal Sokolowski shares the experience of R&D work on these machines for commercial purposes.

Basics and Challenges of Developing Cryogenic Drive Inverter Systems for Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft
by Christian Bentheimer of Fraunhofer IISB

Cryogenic technologies will be a key enabler for the high-power electrification of future hydrogen-powered aircraft. It will lead to performance improvements of the propulsion system, translating into significant weight and fuel saving potential. Developing cryogenic drive inverter systems for hydrogen-powered aircraft involves creating advanced power electronics that can operate at extremely low temperatures down to 77K. A brief description of the behaviour of semiconductors (Si, SiC, GaN), passive components, and integrated circuits at cryogenics temperatures is given. Key challenges encompass managing thermal stresses, and ensuring material compatibility at cryogenic temperatures. Additionally, designing compact, lightweight systems that can fit within the aircraft's constraints while maintaining high reliability and performance is critical for successful implementation.

The H2GEAR Hyperconducting Hydrogen Electric Aircraft Powertrain
by Vicente Climente-Alarcon of GKN Aerospace

The ATI-funded H2GEAR project aims at designing, building, and testing a ground demonstrator featuring a fuel-cell hybrid electric aircraft (FCHEA) propulsion system powered and cooled by liquid hydrogen. Now in its latter stages, this contribution will present the hyperconducting cryogenically-cooled electric power system developed within the project. This newly devised technology will be compared to other possible system configurations that utilize either superconducting materials or higher voltage equipment. This comparison will be carried out on several notional commercial aircraft designs, showing the advantages and remaining challenges of the hyperconducting approach. The presentation will conclude with an insight on developing experimental work.

Cooling Techniques for Cryogenically Cooled Electrical Machines
by Fengyu Zhang of University of Nottingham

Cooling methods are critical in the design of electrical machines, in particular for the cryogenically cooled electrical machines, where the machine components are separated into cryogenic and non-cryogenic temperatures. This talk will provide an overview of alternative cooling solutions and recommendations for the development of future cryogenic electrical machines.

Design and modeling of high-speed induction machines for submerged cryogenic pumps
by Marco Biasion of ABB Corporate Research Center Sweden

This talk discusses the methodologies for the analysis and design of high-speed induction machines for submerged cryogenic pumps. Attention is paid to the characterization of electric steels at cryogenic temperature, the electromechanical and thermal modeling of cryogenic induction machines as well as the definition of general guidelines for their design. A case study is presented addressing the design of a three-phase, 15 kW, 13500 rpm induction machine for single-stage submerged cryogenic pumps.

Hydrogen Propulsion Systems Research at the University of Nottingham
by Neville Rebelo of University of Nottingham

A state-of-the-art Hydrogen Propulsion Systems laboratory is being built at the University of Nottingham with a vision to accelerate zero carbon research into high-impact commercial and policy solutions in partnership with industry and government. This facility is capable of testing MW scale Hydrogen systems under controlled environments and with cryogenic cooling