The Engineer – Nottingham delves into cryogenics for H2FlyGHT programme

Cryogenics is a vital area of ​​R&D for hydrogen flight, as extremely low temperatures allow hydrogen to be stored at much higher energy density in liquid form. The new £5.3 million Nottingham project will focus on the development, manufacture and testing of a novel hydrogen-electric cryogenic propulsion system. Led by the university’s Power Electronics, Machines and Control (PEMC) research group, the project will support the full engine design as well as the development of cryogenic inverter technology.

Engineers from the university will deliver this research at a new hydrogen propulsion systems facility on campus. It will feature a cryogenics lab for low-temperature loops to increase electrical system efficiency, a systems integration lab, and an altitude environment chamber capable of testing a megawatt fuel cell along with battery and electric motor systems. According to the university, the hardware labs will be connected to a digital twinning lab to optimize design and operational performance.

“The vision of net-zero air travel is within our sights. However, to get there we need to push the boundaries of what is technically possible,” said Chris Gerada, Professor of Electrical Machines and lead for strategic research and innovation initiatives at the University of Nottingham.

“Thanks to our new on-campus propulsion research infrastructure, industry can co-locate, research, prototype, test, automate and manufacture the new solutions they need to future-proof their businesses. As a result, we can accelerate the economic prosperity of the East Midlands, the home of green industries and advanced manufacturing.”

The new cryogenic research is part of the The £44 million H2FlyGHT project is led by GKN Aerospace, in partnership with Parker Meggitt and the Universities of Manchester and Nottingham, and supported by the UK Government through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) programme.

H2FlyGHT aims to demonstrate an integrated propulsion system at the 2 MW scale, including fuel cell power generation, cryogenic power distribution and advanced cryogenic drive systems.