据CNBC网站2月22日消息 空客公司（Airbus）表示，计划在本世纪中叶之前在改装的A380飞机上测试氢动力发动机，以期为商业航空旅行带来低排放燃料。

这家欧洲飞机巨头周二表示，其正在与发动机制造商CFM International（通用电气航空子公司和法国赛峰集团的合资企业）合作研制试验飞机，该试验飞机将包括一种已在使用的发动机的改进版本，该发动机将必须处理氢气燃烧的更高温度。空客公司表示，试飞将于2026年开始。

飞机制造商和航空公司正争相削减碳排放量，碳排放量占世界总量的2%以上。空客一直在积极寻求氢燃料，并表示正在研制一架以这种燃料为动力的客机，预计将于2035年投入使用。

竞争对手波音公司专注于更可持续的航空燃料，目前可持续航空燃料占航空燃料供应的比例不到1%，比传统航空燃料更昂贵。首席执行官戴夫·卡尔霍恩在去年6月的一次投资者会议上表示，预计在2050年之前，氢动力飞机不会达到“我们所计划的飞机规模”。

航空咨询公司Aerodynamic Advisory董事总经理理查德·阿布拉菲亚表示，使用氢燃料的一大挑战是，储存氢燃料需要额外的设备，以增加飞机的重量，减少飞机可以运载的人数或货物量。

他说：“当工程师和经济学家互不交谈时，就会产生氢燃料。”

空客表示，之所以选择世界上最大的客机A380，是因为它有空间存放液氢罐和其他设备。

吴恒磊 编译自 CNBC

原文如下：

Airbus plans to test hydrogen engine on A380 jumbo jet to fly in 2026

Airbus said it plans to test a hydrogen-powered engine on a modified A380 by the middle of the decade, in hopes of bringing lower-emission fuels to commercial air travel.

The European aircraft giant said Tuesday that it’s working with engine maker CFM International — a joint venture of General Electric’s aviation arm and France’s Safran — on the test plane, which will include a modified version of an engine already in use that will have to handle higher temperatures at which hydrogen burns. Test flights could begin 2026, Airbus said.

Aircraft manufacturers and airlines are scrambling to slash their carbon emissions, which account for more than 2% of the world’s total. Airbus has aggressively pursued hydrogen and said it is working on a passenger aircraft powered by the fuel that it expects will enter service in 2035.

Rival Boeing has focused on more sustainable aviation fuels, which currently make up less than 1% of the jet fuel supply and are more expensive than conventional jet fuel. CEO Dave Calhoun said at an investor conference last June that he didn’t expect a hydrogen-powered plane on “the scale of airplanes that we’re referring to” before 2050.

One big challenge in using hydrogen fuel is that storing it would require additional equipment that adds weight to the aircraft, reducing the number of people or amount of cargo that a plane could carry, said Richard Aboulafia, managing director at Aerodynamic Advisory, an aviation consulting firm.

“Hydrogen is what happens when engineers and economists don’t talk to each other,” he said.

Airbus said it selected its A380, the world’s largest passenger plane, because it had room to store the liquid hydrogen tanks and other equipment.