Research team determines optimal flight paths for solar-powered airships

05/23/2023

Source: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Flying is the most climate-damaging form of locomotion. There may soon be technical alternatives such as solar airships with efficient solar cells and lightweight batteries.

Prof. Dr. Christoph Pflaum (FAU), Prof. Dr. Agnes Jocher (TUM) and student Tim Riffelmacher have investigated which route such a solar airship should take from London to New York to be fast and environmentally friendly. The results were published in the "International Journal of Sustainable Energy". Prof. Dr. Christoph Pflaum is convinced that solar-powered airships can make aviation faster and more economically environmentally friendly. He published the paper, "Design and route optimization for an airship with onboard solar energy harvesting."

Climate-friendly and cost-effective way of aviation

The use of solar zeppelins can significantly reduce transportation costs and CO2 emissions from aviation. Solar zeppelins are environmentally friendly because they recharge with highly efficient solar cells and produce no combustion emissions. Only small amounts of CO2 are emitted to charge the battery before takeoff. Work is underway in California on a large, fully rigid airship with high resistance to weather. The technology has been neglected in recent decades, but now it is being developed further with solar cells on board. There is no risk of fire because the zeppelins are not filled with flammable materials. Solar-powered blimps also have lower energy consumption costs compared to conventional aircraft.

Two to three days for a flight across the Atlantic

Simulated itinerary of a solar-powered airship in January (winter, blue line), April (spring - green), July (summer - orange) and October (fall - brown), between New York and London (left) and London to New York (right), respectively. The maximum cruising altitude is 3020 meters.

Are solar zeppelins an alternative to conventional aircraft? Prof. Pflaum and Prof. Jocher see a lot of potential for it, although airships fly slower. Students at FAU have simulated and calculated in their work how fast a solar zeppelin could be and which route would be ideal. Acceptable flight times for national, continental and intercontinental flights for both cargo transport and passenger transportation were determined. Travel in an airship would also be more comfortable than in an airplane, with space for a dining room, lounge and two-bed rooms for passengers.

Read the full research here .