Research on Fuel Cell Turboelectric Power Technology for Electric Aircraft

Yangjun Zhang; Ricardo Martinez-Botas; Zezhi Zeng; Andrew Jiaxuan Law; Hongsheng Jiang; Jie Peng; Dengjie Chen

doi:10.1016/j.eng.2026.04.010

Engineering ›› :202604010 DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2026.04.010

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Research on Fuel Cell Turboelectric Power Technology for Electric Aircraft

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Abstract

Electric aircraft will usher in a new era of low-altitude transportation and mark a third personalized transportation revolution. The power systems of electric aircraft must deliver ample power during takeoff and landing, operate at high efficiency during cruise, and exhibit high power density. Meeting all of these requirements is challenging for current power systems. We propose integrating fuel cells into the combustor of a conventional gas turbine to form a new fuel cell turboelectric power system for future electric aircraft. Its performance is compared with that of four other powertrains in a typical electric aircraft flight scenario through thermodynamic analysis. We demonstrate that the full Li-ion battery configuration remains suitable for short-range applications. In contrast, the fuel cell turboelectric power system is more efficient for medium- to high-range cruise requirements above 300 km. For a maximum cruising range of 500 km, the total equivalent hydrogen consumption of the fuel cell turboelectric power system is only 6.4 kg, approximately 50% of that of powertrains using conventional turbogenerators and batteries. Preliminary experiments are also conducted to validate the feasibility of developing a fuel cell turboelectric power system. The results demonstrate that a proton exchange membrane fuel cell can operate steadily with a flame combustor or a catalytic combustor. The outlet temperature of the fuel cell combustor can reach 1200 °C and is easily controlled by adjusting the gas flow rate to meet specific requirements. The power density of the manufactured finned tubular solid oxide fuel cell can also reach 1.2 W·g⁻¹, thus meeting the requirements of future fuel cell turboelectric power systems. This study provides a technical and systematic foundation for the development of fuel cell turboelectric power systems.

Keywords

Fuel cell turboelectric power system / Electric aircraft / Aircars / Fuel cell / Combustion

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Yangjun Zhang, Ricardo Martinez-Botas, Zezhi Zeng, Andrew Jiaxuan Law, Hongsheng Jiang, Jie Peng, Dengjie Chen. Research on Fuel Cell Turboelectric Power Technology for Electric Aircraft. Engineering 202604010 DOI:10.1016/j.eng.2026.04.010

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