China News Service, Beijing, April 4 (Reporter Sun Zifa) The reporter learned from the China Aviation Engine Group (China Aviation Engineering Group) on the 4th that the AEP100, a megawatt-class hydrogen fuel aviation turboprop engine independently developed by the Hunan Power Machinery Research Institute affiliated to China Aviation Engineering Group, was equipped with a 7.5-ton unmanned transport aircraft and successfully made its first flight at Lusong Airport in Zhuzhou, Hunan Province that day. This is the world’s first test flight of a megawatt hydrogen fuel aviation turboprop engine.
According to reports, the engine of the unmanned transport aircraft worked normally and was in good condition during the entire flight. It lasted 16 minutes in the air, flew a distance of 36 kilometers, flew at a speed of 220 kilometers per hour, and flew at an altitude of 300 meters above the ground. It returned successfully after completing the scheduled flight subjects, and the first flight was a complete success.
The megawatt hydrogen fuel aviation turboprop engine AEP100 is undergoing relevant tests. Photo courtesy of China Aviation Development Corporation
Industry experts said that the success of this world's first flight has achieved a stage leap from technology to engineering for China's independent development of megawatt-class hydrogen-fueled aviation engines. It marks that China has opened up the entire technology chain from core components to complete machine integration in the field of hydrogen-fueled aviation engines. It has verified the engineering reliability of matching the hydrogen fuel power system and the flight platform, laid a key foundation for the subsequent industrial application of hydrogen energy aviation, and is an important milestone in China's green aviation power development from technological exploration to engineering practice.
Experts said that as the cost of green hydrogen preparation further decreases in the future, the economic advantages and energy security advantages of hydrogen aviation power will gradually be revealed. Hydrogen fuel aviation engine technology is expected to be the first to be applied in low-altitude economic fields such as unmanned air cargo and island logistics, and gradually expand to manned regional aircraft. This technology will drive the collaborative upgrading of upstream green hydrogen energy preparation, midstream storage, transportation and refueling infrastructure, downstream high-end equipment and new materials and other industrial clusters, and continue to promote the green, low-carbon and high-quality development of China's aviation industry. (over)
