Airbus pushes back development of ZEROe hydrogen-powered aircraft program

Airbus has confirmed that the future ZEROe family of hydrogen-powered aircraft may take longer to develop than originally anticipated, according to the Financial Times. 

The European aircraft manufacturer reportedly informed part of its workforce on February 6, 2025, that it is pushing back the development timeframe of the ZEROe program for between five to 10 years past the original 2035 target date.  

This information was shared publicly by French trade union Force Ouvrière, which also stated that the budget allocated to the ZEROe program will be slashed by a quarter and plans to test hydrogen-fed fuel cell propulsion inflight using an A380 as a test bank have also been shelved. 

Airbus confirmed on February 7, 2025, that the ZEROe program would be delayed. However, it reaffirmed its commitment to continue developing a hydrogen-powered airliner. 

Even if the ZEROe program goes ahead in a reduced form, the decision is a setback for the incipient hydrogen aviation industry, given that Airbus was the largest aviation manufacturer to have committed to the development of this technology at scale. 

The ZEROe program aims to develop a family of three hydrogen powered airliners by 2035. These include a turboprop aircraft for under 100 passengers and two mid-sized airliner concepts for up to 200 passengers, one of them with a blended-wing-body configuration. 

While developing a clean-sheet aircraft with a novel propulsion technology is no small matter, in the case of hydrogen the task is complicated by the need to ensure there will be an adequate infrastructure capable of servicing the aircraft around the world and refueling them with adequate amounts of green hydrogen. The post Airbus pushes back development of ZEROe hydrogen-powered aircraft program appeared first on AeroTime.

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