Hydrogen-powered electric planes were once considered an expensive pipe dream, but recent advances show it’s possible. One of the industry’s largest aeronautical companies is pushing ahead with plans to develop its own next-generation aircraft engine. On July 7, Airbus confirmed a partnership with Germany’s MTU Aero Engines to design and build the world’s first aircraft engine powered entirely by electric hydrogen fuel cells.

A newly formed joint venture aims to start in 2027, pending regulatory approvals from the European Union. Both parties previously signed a memorandum of understanding at last year’s Paris Air Show as part of Airbus’ ZEROe initiative first announced in 2020.

“Our ambitious goal is to pave the way for a newly developed, safe, reliable and economical propulsion system that will contribute to climate-neutral aviation,” MTU Aero Engines senior vice president of engineering and technology Stefan Weber said in a statement.

The airline industry remains one of the world’s largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and is responsible for releasing toxic amounts of carbon dioxide, sulfur oxides and contrails into the atmosphere each year. Instead of running on synthetic fuels, hydrogen fuel cell engines rely on light liquid hydrogen that is burned in an electrochemical reaction to power large lithium batteries. The byproduct is primarily water vapor, although more research is needed to understand how much potential sulfur oxide is released.

In an announcement, Airbus said it “aims to completely eliminate in-flight carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions” in its aircraft using the hydrogen fuel cell system. If all goes as planned, the companies hope to finish development of their new airline by 2035. Meanwhile, Airbus and MTU are working to create a broader ecosystem of hydrogen aircraft along with regulatory frameworks for the operation and certification of future sustainable aircraft.

2025 PopSci Best of what’s new

The 50 most important innovations of the year