The potential of liquid hydrogen for the future 'carbon-neutral' air transport system

Global air traffic has grown considerably over the past two decades, contributing both to the globalization of the economy and overall welfare of society on the one hand and increasing emissions of greenhouse gases and local noise on the other. The latter has raised questions whether such a growing demand can continue to sustain, particularly regarding the long-term management of greenhouse gas emissions. This paper elaborates the potential of cryogenic aircraft using liquid hydrogen to achieve the 'carbon-neutral' air transport system. A model is developed to estimate the emissions of greenhouse gases following the gradual replacement of conventional by cryogenic aircraft according to different scenarios based on 'what-if' reasoning. This model is applied to the global air transport system. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.