IEEE Spectrum’s Top Rare Earth Elements Stories 2025
- Here's a breakdown of the key information from the provided text, focusing on Airbus and electric vehicle technology:
- * ZEROe project: Airbus is pursuing a highly enterprising project called ZEROe to develop a large, zero-emission, single-aisle passenger airliner.
- * Hub Motors as a Goal: In-wheel hub motors are a long-sought-after technology in the EV industry.
Here’s a breakdown of the key information from the provided text, focusing on Airbus and electric vehicle technology:
Airbus & Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft
* ZEROe project: Airbus is pursuing a highly enterprising project called ZEROe to develop a large, zero-emission, single-aisle passenger airliner.
* Technology: This plane would be powered by fuel cells running on liquid hydrogen, using ultraefficient, high-specific-power motors with superconducting coils.
* Leadership: Airbus is significantly ahead of Boeing in this area of growth.
* Timeline: While Airbus remains committed to the project, they anticipate hydrogen-powered planes won’t significantly impact the passenger aviation market before the late 2040s.
Electric Vehicle Technology – Hub Motors
* Hub Motors as a Goal: In-wheel hub motors are a long-sought-after technology in the EV industry.
* Potential Benefits: They offer advantages like torque-vectoring for improved handling.
* Challenges: A major obstacle is unsprung weight – the mass of the wheels not supported by the suspension, which can negatively impact ride quality.
In essence, the article highlights two ambitious areas of engineering: Airbus’s pursuit of hydrogen-powered flight and the ongoing challenges in developing practical in-wheel hub motors for electric vehicles.