TRIATHLON

Thermodynamics-driven control management of Hydrogen powered and electrified propulsion for aviation

Significant efforts are being made at international level to reduce CO₂ emissions in order to mitigate the negative impact of human activity on the environment. The global aviation industry is aiming to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 50% by 2050 compared to 2005 levels. Novel propulsion technologies using fuel cells and/or hydrogen-based combustion systems will play an important role in this transition to net-zero CO₂ emissions.
The goal of TRIATHLON is to develop breakthrough approaches for the development of more robust, low-maintenance, low-emission and responsive hydrogen-electric powertrains for megawatt-class aircraft. This goal is to be achieved by consistently pursuing the following objectives:

Developing and investigating the feasibility of targeted storage solutions for higher gravimetric density and lower losses to the atmosphere, thereby increasing safety and reducing costs.
Development of a hybrid power generation system that achieves high efficiency, high power density and extremely low NO_x emissions.
Characterization of heat and mass transfer at the interfaces of hydrogen phase change and definition of thermal management solutions based on structured mini-channels.
Evaluation of these technologies and development of a roadmap to further increase the TRL.

Overview of the structure and research focus of the TRIATHLON project. — Structure and main research areas of project TRIATHLON.

Period

01.01.2024 – 31.12.2027

Project partners

Funding

This project has received funding from the European Union’s 'Horizon Europe' Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement No 101138960, project TRIATHLON.