Zeppelin Back to Life? Start-Up ‘H2 Clipper’ Green Dirigible Boasts 170-Ton Payload, 7500 M3 Cargo Space
8th April 2022
More than 80 years ago, the Hindenburg Zeppelin LZ 129 exploded and crashed as it approached landing at Lakehurst New Jersey on May 6, 1937.
The behemoth 250-meter long vessel rigid airship had been in service for just under a year. At the time, numerous such vessels had been produced and employed with relative commercial success between the 1900s and the late 1930s. But the dramatic, fiery explosion of the Hindenburg spelled the end of dirigibles as a mode of transport.
The problem with the Hindenburg was a design flaw that is known and can be avoided. Nevertheless, popular mythology has panicked the public about hydrogen dirigibles ever since. This might not prove a problem with cargo craft.
According to the company’s promotional video, the new vessel uses “green hydrogen” for propulsion and with it the company hopes to transform air freight and shipping worldwide.
Using liquid hydrogen and fuel cell technology, the H2 Clipper is claimed to “operate efficiently at service ranges from under 500 to well over 6,000 miles” and travel at 175 mph. It would be able to “deliver goods directly from a factory in China to a distribution center in the U.S. in less than 36 hours.”