兆瓦级氢燃料航空涡桨发动机华中首飞成功

A 7.5-tonne unmanned cargo aircraft powered by AEP100, China's independently developed megawatt-class hydrogen-fueled turboprop engine, successfully completed its maiden flight on April 4 at an airport in Zhuzhou, central China's Hunan Province.

4月4日，一架配装中国自主研制的兆瓦级氢燃料航空涡桨发动机AEP100的7.5吨级无人运输机，在湖南省株洲市某机场成功完成首飞。

This marks the world's first test flight of a megawatt-class hydrogen-fueled turboprop engine.

这也是全球首次兆瓦级氢燃料航空涡桨发动机成功试飞。

The engine operated normally and remained in good condition throughout the 16-minute test flight, according to the Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC), its developer. The aircraft covered 36 km at 220 km/h, flying at an altitude of 300 meters. After completing all scheduled flight maneuvers, it returned safely.

作为发动机研发单位的中国航空发动机集团（以下简称“中国航发”）表示，整个飞行过程中发动机工作正常、状态良好，空中飞行时间16分钟，飞行距离36公里，飞行速度220公里/小时，离地飞行高度300米，在完成了预定飞行科目后顺利返航。

Experts from the AECC noted that the successful maiden flight highlights that China has now established a complete technological chain in hydrogen-fueled aviation engines, covering everything from core components to full engine integration. They added that this achievement lays the foundation for the industrial application of hydrogen energy in aviation.

来自中国航发的专家指出，此次首飞成功标志着中国已构建起从核心部件到整机集成的氢燃料航空发动机全技术链，并为后续氢能在航空领域的产业化应用奠定了基础。

As green hydrogen production costs fall, hydrogen aviation engines will show growing economic and energy security advantages, experts said. Hydrogen-fueled aero engine technology is expected to debut in low-altitude economy fields such as unmanned air freight and island logistics, before gradually expanding to regional and mainline aircraft.

专家表示，随着绿氢制备成本的进一步下降，氢能航空动力的经济性优势和能源安全优势将逐步展现。氢燃料航空发动机技术有望率先在空中无人货运、海岛物流等低空经济领域展开应用，并逐步拓展至载人支干线飞机。

This technology will drive coordinated upgrades across industrial clusters, including upstream green hydrogen production, midstream storage, transportation and refueling infrastructure, and downstream high-end equipment and new materials. Ultimately, it will propel the green, low-carbon, and high-quality development of China's aviation industry, experts added.

该技术将牵引上游绿色氢能制备、中游储运加注基础设施、下游高端装备与新材料等产业集群的协同升级，持续推动中国航空产业绿色低碳高质量发展。