Abstract: The aviation industry is actively pursuing sustainable energy alternatives to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Hydrogen produced from renewable energies, as a decarbonized and efficient fuel, presents a promising solution to reduce both CO2 and non-CO2 emissions in aircraft operations, including contrails which have a significant radiative forcing impact. Hydrogen is a promising alternative however it is crucial to understand its non-CO2 emissions characteristics.
The Blue Condor project aimed to develop and test a hydrogen-powered turbojet platform to study contrail formation and their environmental impact. This innovative initiative involves modifying an Arcus-J glider equipped with an A800H2 engine featuring a micromix hydrogen combustion chamber, replacing conventional kerosene fuel. The primary objective is to gather experimental data on the characteristics of contrails produced by a turbomachine burning hydrogen, the main charactristics of interest are: ice particle size, distribution, under real commercial aviation flight conditions. The H2 platform was tested along with an unmodified kerosene jet-glider to perform high-altitude flight tests to prove mission feasibility. Further flight tests will be performed later with contrails measuring equipment’s. The collected data will enhance the understanding of hydrogen combustion’s potential to reduce aviation’s environmental footprint and contribute to the development of sustainable aviation technologies.