ITP Aero leads the consortium to develop Spain's first hydrogen-powered aircraft engine.

The first hydrogen-powered aircraft engine is getting closer thanks to the first national consortium that has been formed for the use of hydrogen in aircraft propulsion systems. Led by ITP Aero, this national consortium has been set up to develop the first hydrogen-powered aircraft engine, with the first tests scheduled for 2025.

The project, with an investment of 12 million euros, involves companies and technology centres, as well as Spanish universities, and is part of the Aeronautical Technology Plan managed by the Spanish Centre for the Development of Technology and Innovation, CDTI.

The project, entitled “Cryogenics, Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Combustion in Air Transport”, is structured around four lines of research, two of which are focused on the development of technology for conditioning liquid hydrogen for its transformation into gaseous hydrogen and its regulation for gas turbine use, and the development of a fuel cell propulsion system and eventual first demonstrator that will include power electronics systems, an electric motor and a propulsion element (propeller or compressor).

In addition to ITP Aero, the consortium is made up of AJUSA, DESTINUS and AEROTECNIC, and supported by TECNALIA and other organisations. In an interview for Radio Euskadi, the Head of Technology Development and Research at ITP Aero provides an update on the latest developments of the project which is being led by ITP Aero from Zamudio.