Nottingham goes deep on cryogenics for H2FlyGHT programme

Nottingham University has launched a major new cryogenics research programme as part of the wider H2FlyGHT project to advance hydrogen-electric aviation.

Cryogenics is a vital area of R&D for hydrogen flight, as extreme low temperatures allow for hydrogen to be stored with much greater energy density in liquid form. The new £5.3m Nottingham project will focus on the development, manufacture and test of a new cryogenic hydrogen-electric propulsion system. Led by the university’s Power Electronics, Machines and Control (PEMC) research group, the project will support the full motor design, as well as cryogenic inverter technology development. 

Engineers at the university will deliver this research at a new hydrogen propulsion systems facility on campus. This will feature a cryogenics lab for low temperature loops to increase electrical system efficiencies, a systems integration lab, and an altitude environment chamber capable of testing a megawatt fuel cell together with battery and electrical motor systems. According to the university, the hardware labs will be connected to a digital twinning lab to optimise design and operational performance.

“The vision of net zero air travel is within our sights. However, to get there we must push the limits of what is technically possible,” said Chris Gerada, Professor of Electrical Machines and lead for strategic research and innovation initiatives at Nottingham University. 

"Thanks to our new propulsion research infrastructure on campus, industry can co-locate, research, prototype, test, automate and manufacture the new solutions they need to future-proof their business. As a result, we can accelerate the economic prosperity of the East Midlands, the home of green industries and advanced manufacturing.”

The new cryogenics research is part of the £44m H2FlyGHT project led by GKN Aerospace, partnered with Parker Meggitt and the Universities of Manchester and Nottingham, and supported by the UK government through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) programme.

H2FlyGHT is aiming to demonstrate an integrated propulsion system at the 2 MW scale including fuel cell power generation, cryogenic power distribution, and advanced cryogenic drive systems.