A Detailed and Comparative Economic Analysis of Hybrid-Electric Aircraft Concepts Considering Environmental Assessment Factors

Abstract

To meet the FlightPath 2050 goals, the aviation sector must reduce CO2 emissions by 75% per passenger kilometer and NOx emissions by 90% compared to a typical aircraft in 2000. To achieve these ambitious goals, new aircraft concepts are currently being developed. Lifecycle simulation and subsequent comparison can provide relevant insights into their performance over the entire lifecycle in both economic and environmental terms. However, such analyses are rarely carried out during early design stages. The goal of this study is to determine how the impact of a new hybrid-electric hydrogen-powered (LH2) aircraft differs from their conventional counterpart powered by Jet-A1 or Power-to-Liquid (PtL), and what these changes entail for the operator and the environment. To this end, the lifecycles of the aircraft are modeled with a discrete event simulation, which serve as the basis for the ecological and economic evaluation. Each phase is examined in depth for this purpose, and relevant adjustments for hydrogen-powered aircraft are outlined. This entails, among other things, a comprehensive development of a potential maintenance plan. The economic results show that the PtL-case and the LH2-case are on the same cost level. From an environmental perspective the lifecycle based carbon dioxide equivalents savings of the LH2-case are almost twice as great as those of the PtL-case compared to the Jet-A1-case. With this deeper view, the operational changes associated with new aircraft concepts can be examined throughout their lifecycles, and economic and environmental impacts can be calculated early in the design process.