NOVOTECH joins the Collins-led Consortium (COCOLIH2T) to develop new thermoplastics technology for the liquid hydrogen tanks necessary to power hydrogen propulsion architectures in future more sustainable aircraft.
Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies business, has been selected under the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking’s call: the Consortium will bring together Collins sites across France, Italy, United Kingdom, Poland, the Netherlands, U.S. and Ireland along with NLR, Delft University of Technology, ATR, NOVOTECH, and Unified International.
While liquid hydrogen contains approximately three times as much energy per kg as traditional jet fuel, it has a lower specific density meaning that it requires nearly four times as much volume to match the energy content of the same mass of traditional jet fuel. To overcome this, thermoplastic tank structures are in development. This strong, yet lightweight tank design is the focus of the new project.
“The COCOLIH2T project addresses the challenges of shifting from traditional jet fuel to a fully sustainable, clean burning hydrogen fuel” said Mary Lombardo, vice president, Advanced Technologies at Collins Aerospace. Compared with traditional fuel tanks, hydrogen tanks must reduce weight and enable containment of cryogenic fluid. COCOLIH2T is the kind of aerospace industry cross-collaboration Collins is focused on to reduce the environmental impact of aviation and lead us to a sustainable future.
NOVOTECH has proven capability in design and manufacturing of composite structures, based on low cost and out-of-autoclave automated production processes. The Company can count on researchers and qualified engineers and technicians for the development and manufacturing of composite prototypes with complex shapes and variable thickness, based on advanced design methodologies.
This project has the potential to go beyond by designing and manufacturing a disruptive tank through novel fabrication technologies enabling a 60% reduction in production energy consumption and at least 50% in production time leading to significantly lower manufacturing costs.
Thermoplastic composites are advanced materials known for their durability and unique manufacturing characteristics. The material is lightweight, suitable for extreme temperatures and has the capacity to be recycled. Collins is developing technologically advanced materials for the future of sustainable commercial aviation.
About Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking
The Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (JU) is a public private partnership supporting research and innovation (R&I) activities in hydrogen technologies in Europe. For more information, visit clean-hydrogen.europa.eu
About Raytheon Technologies
Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX) is the world’s largest aerospace and defence company. Hes global team of 180,000 employees pushes the limits of known science and redefines how we connect and protect our world. We are advancing aviation, building smarter defence systems and creating innovations to take us deeper into space. The company, with 2022 sales of $67 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
About Collins Aerospace
Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies Corp. business, is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defence industry. Collins Aerospace has the extensive capabilities, comprehensive portfolio, and broad expertise to solve customers’ toughest challenges and to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global market. For more information, visit CollinsAerospace.com.
About NOVOTECH Aerospace Advanced Technology
NOVOTECH was founded in 1992 as spin-off engineering consulting company from Department of Aerospace Engineering of the University of Naples Federico II. In order to keep high competitiveness on the market, NOVOTECH has developed well consolidated know-how on aircraft and aircraft components: design/certification; automated composite manufacturing processes; advanced FEA; static/dynamic experimental tests.
