LIQUID HYDROGEN AVIATION
Composite cryogenic pipes for hydrogen aircraft
Enoflex is developing lightweight composite cryogenic pipe for the liquid hydrogen fuel systems future aircraft will require.
THE APPLICATION
Liquid hydrogen aircraft require fuel systems that operate at -253°C, far colder than any cryogenic environment in wide aviation use today.
Fuel distribution pipework at that temperature has to manage extreme thermal cycling and permeation risk while staying as light as possible, weight matters more in aviation than in almost any other application.
THE ENGINEERING CHALLENGE
Extreme temperature
-253°C is colder than most cryogenic engineering has had to solve for at scale.
Weight
Every kilogram matters more in an aircraft fuel system than almost anywhere else.
Thermal cycling
Repeated fuelling and flight cycles put material fatigue resistance under real pressure.
Aircraft packaging
Fuel systems have to fit tightly constrained airframe space.
ENOFLEX’S ROLE
Enoflex is developing composite pipe for aircraft liquid hydrogen fuel systems at -253°C, under the SPCLH2 development programme funded by ATI and Innovate UK, working alongside the National Composites Centre (NCC), the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and GKN Aerospace.
WHY COMPOSITE
Materials characterisation
Tested at 20K and 77K to validate performance across the operating range.
Low permeation
Engineered to control hydrogen permeation at cryogenic temperature.
Lightweight
Around 3x lighter than steel, the equivalent case for LH2 pipework at -253°C
Verification in progress
Product verification is underway on a hydrogen fuel system.
PROGRAMME
The SPCLH2 programme is funded by ATI and Innovate UK, with the National Composites Centre and National Physical Laboratory as technical partners, and GKN Aerospace as an active programme partner.
Broader industry context: Airbus's ZEROe programme is one of the efforts driving demand for hydrogen aviation fuel systems.
PROJECTS
ATI/Innovate UK
Funded development programme
NCC and NPL
Programme technical partners
GKN Aerospace
Active programme partner
TECHNICAL RESOURCES
Working on a hydrogen aviation fuel system?
