Hydrogen Aircraft Market

Hydrogen (Zero-Emission) Aircraft Market Statistics 2030-2040:

The global hydrogen aircraft market is value at $23.71 billion in 2030, and is projected to reach $144.53 billion by 2040, registering a CAGR of 20.5% from 2030 to 2040.

The COVID-19 pandemic not only affected operations of the aviation industry, but the economic crisis also led to reduction in expenditure on next-generation technologies, for instance, hydrogen-fueled aircraft. Many governments trimmed their spending on other sectors and poured a hefty amount of investment in improving healthcare facilities to lessen dangers pertaining to the pandemic. Before COVID-19, the aviation industry witnessed continuous growth in air passenger traffic and in revenues. Governments all around the globe were focusing on investing huge amount for hydrogen-based aircraft and related technologies. However, adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in interruption in activities and initiatives regarding development of hydrogen-based aircraft.

A hydrogen aircraft is an airplane that makes use of hydrogen (liquid or gas) as a power source. Hydrogen energy can be harnessed in two ways for a hydrogen aircraft. It can either be burned in a jet engine or other sorts of internal combustion engines, or it can be used to power a fuel cell to generate electricity to power propeller of aircraft. Research on hydrogen as a potential fuel to power zero-emission aircraft has been on rise in the recent years. The aviation sector is working to develop technologies to tackle challenges associated with hydrogen storage, public perceptions for safety and cost.

Factors such as increase in air passenger traffic across the globe, high suitability of hydrogen as an aviation fuel, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by the use of hydrogen aircraft are anticipated to boost growth of the global hydrogen aircraft market during the forecast period. However, the current price differential between hydrogen and conventional jet fuel is expected to hinder growth of the global hydrogen aircraft market during the forecast period. Further, developing green hydrogen ecosystem, proactive government initiatives toward hydrogen powered aircraft, and growth in infrastructural development for hydrogen across the globe offer lucrative opportunities for the market growth during the forecast period.

The hydrogen aircraft market is segmented on the basis of passenger capacity, range, application, power source, and region. The passenger capacity segment is further divided into less than 100, 101 to 200, and more than 200. By range, it is classified into short haul (<1,000 km), medium haul (1,000-2,000 km), and long haul (2,000+ km). Depending on application, the market is bifurcated into passenger aircraft and cargo aircraft. By power source, it is divided into fully hydrogen powered aircraft, hybrid electric aircraft, hydrogen fuel cell aircraft, and liquid hydrogen aircraft. Region wise, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.

Competitive analysis and profiles of the major hydrogen aircraft market players include AeroDelft, Aerovironment, Inc., Airbus S.A.S., Alaka’i Technologies, HES Energy Systems, Pipistrel d.o.o, PJSC Tupolev, The Boeing Company, Urban Aeronautics Ltd, and ZeroAvia, Inc., Airspace Experience Technologies, Inc., Alisport Srl, Apus Group, BAE systems, Bell Textron Inc. (Bell Helicopter), Bye Aerospace, DeLorean Aerospace, LLC, DigiSky s.r.l., Doosan Mobility Innovation, EHang, E-PROPS (Electravia), EMBRAER S.A., Eviation Aircraft, Flyka, GKN Aerospace Services Limited (Melrose Industries PLC), Honeywell International Inc., HyPoint Inc., Intelligent Energy Limited, Israel Aerospace Industries, Joby Aviation, Karem Aircraft Inc., Lilium, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Plug Power Inc., Rolls-Royce plc, Saab AB, Safran, Shanghai Pearl Hydrogen Energy Technology Co., Ltd., Thales Group and Volta Volare Inc.

Increase in air passenger traffic across the globe

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) yearly worldwide statistics, total number of commuters carried on scheduled flights rose to 4.38 billion in 2019, which was 3.65% higher than 2018. The highest passenger traffic was witnessed in Asia-Pacific. In October 2018, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) publicized those current developments in air transport projects that the passenger count could double to 8.2 billion in 2037. The abovementioned statistics suggest a rise in air passenger traffic over the years across the globe. The present fleet of aircraft is powered by kerosene (fossil fuel) and owing to the rise in air passenger traffic, there is an increase in consumption of kerosene as well. This increase focus for other energy sources such as hydrogen to power next generation of aircraft. As combustion of hydrogen does not emit carbon emissions, use of hydrogen can be quite beneficial for high fuel consuming aircraft. Hence, rise in air traffic is anticipated to drive growth of the hydrogen aircraft market over the years.

High suitability of hydrogen as the aviation fuel

To support the ever-rising air-traffic, a fuel must be found to replace petroleum-based jet aviation fuel. New fuels should be accessible at a global level without causing any hazard of control by a cartel (for instance, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)) and must meet the fundamental requirements of safety performance, environment, and economic considerations. Hydrogen has the potential to substitute the currently used aviation fuel. Hydrogen as an energy carrier for usage in aircraft has some exceptional qualities such as minimum pollution and lightweight, global availability, and safety, thus making it a suitable aviation fuel. In comparison with li-ion batteries, hydrogen has a greater energy density, both in terms of gravimetric and volumetric measures. Furthermore, hydrogen is expected to enter into usage in several industries, which could quicken advancements of fuel cells and storage systems, push downstream infrastructure, and drive down the supply chain costs. Hence, all such factors are expected to propel the market growth.  

High costs associated with production and handling of hydrogen

Hydrogen (in gaseous form) is usually extracted from water by the electrolysis process, which includes passing a high electric current through water to isolate oxygen and hydrogen atoms. The electrolysis process is quite expensive as it includes high expenditure on energy requirements. Furthermore, hydrogen poses challenges for designers, in terms of mass and volume requirements, as well as for fuel management and storage on-board aircraft. High volume-to-energy property of liquid hydrogen (LH2) requires hydrogen aircraft to contain a huge quantity of fuel compared to legacy kerosene-fueled aircraft. This leads to higher air drag and affects efficiency of the aircraft. A typical property of hydrogen is that it has a lower density. Its density is quite lower than gasoline. For this reason, it has to be compressed and brought to a liquid state and stocked in the same manner at lower temperatures to sustain its effectiveness and efficiency as a power source. This is the reason why hydrogen must necessarily be transported and stored in high-pressure conditions, which makes the application of hydrogen for transportation and common use not feasible presently. Above mentioned factors are anticipated to obstruct the market growth of the hydrogen aircraft market during the forecast period. In addition, transition from kerosene-based aircraft to hydrogen aircraft incur huge costs. Big investments would be required to design and manufacture the new customized planes. Hence, such factors hamper growth of the market.

Developing green hydrogen ecosystem

The aerospace industry continues to develop technology to build the world’s first zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2035. Green hydrogen is one of the most recent developments in aviation fuel, which has been an essential component of net-zero climate strategies. For the aviation industry, green hydrogen is expected to play a key role in as fuel in future aircraft. Thus, aviation authorities across the world are increasing investments in green hydrogen as it is an essential component for net-zero climate strategies. For instance, Airbus expects green hydrogen to power future zero-emission aircraft, when it reaches the market by 2035. In addition, the European Commission recently announced that it is working on installing at least 40 GW capacity of electrolyzers or up to 10 million megatons of green hydrogen by 2030. Along with the European Union, Japan, China, South Korea, and the U.S. cities including California, Texas, and Utah, have also started to invest on green hydrogen for aviation fuels. However, it is also necessary to develop infrastructure to distribute green hydrogen once generated. Hence, Airbus urged airports to develop on-site facilities to produce hydrogen within close proximity to operations. However, a green hydrogen ecosystem will need to take shape to ensure its availability to fuel future needs of the aviation industry. Therefore, development of green hydrogen ecosystem is expected to offer lucrative growth opportunities for the hydrogen aircraft market. 

Covid-19 Scenario Analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic not only affected operations of the aviation industry, but the economic crisis also led to reduction in expenditure on next-generation technologies, for instance, hydrogen-fueled aircraft. Many governments trimmed their spending on other sectors and poured a hefty amount of investment in improving healthcare facilities to lessen dangers pertaining to the pandemic. Before COVID-19, the aviation industry witnessed continuous growth in air passenger traffic and in revenues. Governments all around the globe were focusing on investing huge amount for hydrogen-based aircraft and related technologies. However, adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in interruption in activities and initiatives regarding development of hydrogen-based aircraft.

Key Benefits For Stakeholders

• This study presents analytical depiction of the global hydrogen aircraft market analysis along with current trends and future estimations to depict imminent investment pockets.
• The overall hydrogen aircraft market opportunity is determined by understanding profitable trends to gain a stronger foothold.
• The report presents information related to the key drivers, restraints, and opportunities of the global hydrogen aircraft market with a detailed impact analysis.
• The current hydrogen aircraft market is quantitatively analyzed from 2030 to 2040 to benchmark the financial competency.
• Porter’s five forces analysis illustrates the potency of the buyers and suppliers in the industry.

 Hydrogen Aircraft Market Report Highlights