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Energy Policy Forum > 2003
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Boeing to test Fuel Cell-Powered Electric Airplane
Elmhurst Ruralite
August 2003
Having worked through a series of delays including budget
issues, The Boeing Co. plans the first test flight of a fuel
cell-powered electric airplane in late 2004 or early 2005.
Led by Boeing’s Research and Technology Center in Madrid,
Spain, the project eventually could lead to the application
of fuel cell technology on commercial jetliners. Intelligent
Energy of Britain will provide the fuel cell hardware for
the plane—a motorized glider built by Diamond Aircraft
of Austria.
The work to integrate the fuel cells into the demonstration
plane is expected to begin at the end of this summer, Boeing
officials said. That would allow test flights to start in
late 2004 or early 2005.
A 20-kilowatt fuel cell, lithium ion batteries and a 50-kilowatt
electric motor will replace the standard piston engine. The
modified plane will be flown by one pilot, with the cockpit
space for the co-pilot taken up by the fuel cell.
Boeing hopes the clean power source might eventually be used
on commercial jetliners—possibly as a replacement for
the not-so-clean gas-turbine auxiliary power units that generate
electricity while jetliners are on the ground and back up
electrical supply during flight.
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