Airbus Operations Gmbh

Hubert Gans

Ralf-Henning Stolte

Volker Piezunka

In an embodiment, a fuel cell system for supplying emergency power to an aircraft, includes a fuel cell, a hydrogen tank, an oxygen tank, and a power distribution unit. This provides for an emergency power supply for aircraft that is reliable, independent of the outside air, and has low maintenance needs.

Fuel cell emergency system

Apart from electrical energy, nowadays the main engines also supply pneumatic and hydraulic energy to the aircraft, using corresponding media. Apart from mechanical disadvantages this results in reduced engine efficiency in relation to thrust, fuel consumption and weight. According to an embodiment of the present invention an energy supply system for aircraft is provided, comprising a fuel cell arrangement and an electrical energy distribution device. In this way it is possible to replace all the energy generating systems of the engines, which provide energy for the aircraft systems, except for the starter generator, as a result of which the efficiency of the individual engines is improved. Furthermore, the efficiency of onboard energy generation is improved, which in the final analysis results in reduced fuel consumption.

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Hamburg, Germany

Hubert Gans