The H2 Clipper can travel globe-straddling distances at speeds in excess of 225 mph using hydrogen-fueled high-bypass turbofan engines, which are modified jet engines.
The lifting power of hydrogen provides the largest configuration of the H2 Clipper with the ability to lift hundreds of thousands of pounds (inclusive of aircraft weight) at altitudes of 1,000 to 15,000 feet for ocean crossing transport.
H2 Clipper is the only aircraft independent of fossil fuel produced from carbon sources. It is a clean, safe & environmentally friendly alternative to modern airplanes & cargo freighters, which pollute our atmosphere.
The H2 Clipper is a revolutionary transportation system that will redefine air travel for cargo and passengers in the twenty-first century. It is a radical rethinking of a lighter-than-air, hydrogen-buoyed, hydrogen-powered dirigible, which uses no fossil fuels and has a host of commercial and humanitarian applications.
Using Dassault Systemes 3DEXPERIENCE® PLATFORM and assisted by our design partner, XD Innovation, the H2 Clipper preliminary design phase was completed in December 2019 with state-of-the-art, patented technologies in aeronautics, materials fabrication, mass production and other disciplines. The internal structure is modular, we can build sizes ranging from 200 to 1,000 feet in length and up to 300 feet in diameter.
The external skin is made of Kevlar impregnated with Teflon, to provide adequate lift for high-speed flight with impressive snow and ice shedding ability. For thrust, the H2 Clipper uses rotating high-bypass turbofan engines that burn hydrogen in gaseous form. Computerized controls monitor and operate all of the H2 Clipper’s navigation, propulsion, mid-air collision, and buoyancy systems.
The H2 Clipper is a comprehensively patented, multi-use, high-speed, high-altitude dirigible that operates using only clean hydrogen for a “free” lift to altitude using 100% renewable energy.
Vertical liftoff and landing capabilities of the H2 Clipper permit its use in remote areas without the need for airports or docks – it does not need the extensive infrastructure associated with airports and docklands. It will be highly effective in fighting forest fires or delivering water directly to areas affected by drought. In addition, it will enable cargo/freight transport in areas lacking sufficient capacity.
Cargo ships at sea face constant pounding by harsh saltwater and waves. Traditional aircraft face jolts and cargo shifting during takeoff, landing, and in turbulence, which also causes tremendous stress and structural fatigue. The H2 Clipper operates in a much smoother environment; turbulent air has very little effect on it, and there is negligible shifting or bumping during takeoff and landing.
The H2 Clipper travels vertically from ground to cruising altitude without burning fuel, instead, it uses the natural buoyancy of hydrogen gas for lift. After reaching a desired altitude, the hydrogen maintains a condition of neutral buoyancy to the ambient atmosphere. Since the H2 Clipper does not use wings for constant lift, it has much less drag, even when flying at altitude. This results in far less in-flight fuel expenditure than a conventional airplane.
The H2 Clipper’s limited fuel use during travel, helps to keep fuel costs low. The ability to operate without extensive infrastructure enables minimal costs for ground operations. The very low drag and comparatively gentle environment in which the H2 Clipper operates means minimal maintenance costs.
The United States Navy, at the highest levels, has concluded that hydrogen is the safest vehicular fuel they could use. Hydrogen safety tests have been conducted by firing bullets at gas tanks of two cars: one filled with hydrogen and the other with gasoline. The car containing hydrogen released a small blue flame that vented vertically at rapid speed with no damage to the vehicle itself. The car containing gasoline produced an explosion and fire that rapidly spread, totally engulfing the entire vehicle in flames. A natural gas tank would have instantly blown up like a bomb. Hydrogen is by far the safer vehicular fuel.
The most commonly cited concern of hydrogen-buoyed airship safety is the Hindenburg disaster. NASA scientist Addison Bain, former manager of the hydrogen program at the Kennedy Space Center, conducted a 10-year investigation on the Hindenburg’s demise. His investigation showed that the problem was not with the hydrogen, but with the Hindenburg’s highly flammable skin, constructed of cotton with aluminized cellulose acetate butyrate and iron oxide. That mixture is remarkably similar to the solid fuel boosters that launched the Space Shuttle into space. Bain dryly observed, “The moral of the story is you don’t paint your airship with rocket fuel.”
H2 Clipper, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Bob Colucci, a 1987 Financial Management graduate of Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), and the Founder of the company, Rinaldo Brutoco, recently engaged NPS faculty and researchers in a dialogue to cultivate student theses topics of interest in the field of hydrogen-powered, long-range dirigibles. Read More
