Green Options » aeroplane

First Ever Manned Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft Takes to the Air

Andrew Williams — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:25:58 +0000

Earlier this week, the world’s first piloted aircraft powered solely by hydrogen fuel cells, took to the skies above Hamburg Airport, Germany, producing zero carbon dioxide emissions.

The Antares DLR-H2, jointly developed by the German aerospace centre DLR, Lange Aviation, BASF Fuel Cells and Denmark’s Serenergy, has a range of 750km (390nm) and can stay airborne for 5 hours at top flying speeds of about 90kt (170km/h).

According to DLR, a main hurdle was improving fuel cell performance capabilities and efficiency to such an extent that the motor glider could take off using fuel cell power alone. DLR’s Johann-Dietrich told reporters, “This enables us to demonstrate the true potential of this technology.” (see more pictures after the jump).

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There is no point in calculating your carbon footprint - you need to understand it!

Dave Harcourt — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 17:40:27 +0000

Ten credible on line calculators gave Carbon Footprints that ranged from 27 000 to 76 000 pounds of carbon emitted a year for the same input data. An understanding of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with what we do and consume will give us a better chance of reducing our emissions than using such inaccurate calculators.

What’s the problem?

J. Paul Padgett and collegues at Vanderbilt University and the University of Washington analysed the results obtained using 10 carbon footprint calculators from credible organisations including; American Forests, Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), CarbonCounter,The Conservation Fund and the Environmental Impact Agency (EPA). Their results are published in the Environmental Impact Assessment Review 28 (2008). They identified the massive range refered to above, that ammounts to a difference of 180% between the lowest and highest figures and concluded that “Given their prevalence and potential influence, CO2 calculators can provide even greater public benefit by providing greater consistency and clarity.

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Michigan Students Set World Record for Longest Flight by Fuel Cell Powered Plane

Andrew Williams — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 20:29:50 +0000

A group of students from the University of Michigan have set a new world record for the longest flight ever by a fuel-cell powered plane.

Late last month the team, known as SolarBubbles, flew the $2,500 plane (video) around a field in Milan, Michigan for a total of 10 hours, 15 minutes and 4 seconds - smashing the previous 9 hour record held by a Californian engineering company.

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Biodiesel Powered Plane Makes History With First Flight Across US

Andrew Williams — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:57:35 +0000

Earlier this month, pilots Carol Sugars and Douglas Rodante made history by becoming the first flight-crew to successfully fly across the US in a plane predominantly powered by biodiesel.

Of the total 2,486 miles flown from Reno, Nevada to Leesburg, Florida, 1,776 miles were 100% biodiesel-powered. The remaining 710 miles were powered by a 50/50 mix of biodiesel and standard jet fuel.

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