Yesterday Boeing was proud to announce the successful test flight of the first hydrogen fuel cell-powered airplane. Pictured above, the Boeing “Phantom Works” has a 16.3 m wingspan, carries 2 people, and with the help of a lithium-ion battery, emits only water and heat as its exhaust.
The battery power was used only during take-off, and helped the pilot climb to 1,000 meters above sea level before disconnecting the battery and flying for approximately 20 minutes on fuel cells alone.The success of this flight marks a milestone in aviation history, and keeps Boeing at the front of the pack as far as revolutionary technology in airplanes goes.
The environmental performance of this airplane obviously can’t be translated into passenger airplanes yet, but it shows that with the determination of the Boeing engineers, nothing will be impossible.
Watch a video of the take-off from BBC here
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Photo courtesy of Boeing Media
