Hydrogen power for humanitarian missions: ZAL GmbH and drone manufacturer Wingcopter launch development partnership

ZAL Innovation Talk – Hydrogen in Aviation and Maritime 5 Years From Now

What role will hydrogen play in aviation and shipping in the next five years? And how will Hamburg’s hydrogen infrastructure change? These were the central questions discussed at the ZAL Innovation Talk on February 22nd, where Roland Gerhards, CEO of ZAL, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Carlos Jahn from the Fraunhofer Institute for Maritime Logistics talked about […]

Big Data flying soon

The smart aircraft cabin of the future takes the travel experience to a new level. Fast Wi-Fi for streaming favorite series on personal devices, smart lighting for increased well-being and less jetlag, and individual temperature control at the seat provide personalized comfort in the aircraft cabin. Additional cabin services can be booked via smartphone, allowing […]

Above the Clouds: Contactless Measurement of the Heart Rate of Aircraft Passengers and Cabin Crew

Together with Lufthansa Technik (LHT), ZAL has been researching how the heart rate of passengers and cabin crew can be measured without contact during a flight to further improve safety on board (HOPEKI project, LuFo 6.1). Optical methods are one way to measure heart rate. Usually, these methods are applied, for example, in smartwatches.

Circular Economy in the aircraft cabin?

Can aircraft cabins be optimized in terms of sustainability? And if so, where are the challenges? The ZAL team has examined the influence of airplane cabins on sustainability through a structured innovation process. The sustainability of airplane cabins is an important consideration because they are replaced several times during an airplane’s lifespan, and the cabin […]

ZAL Discourse – Automation in Aviation

Can complex processes such as maintenance and repair be automated? What is actually the difference between automatization and automation and where are future fields of application? This was the topic of the last ZAL Discourse “Automation in Aviation” on 25.10.2022. Compared to the automotive industry, automated processes are more difficult to establish in aviation, explained […]

A new lease of life in the service of science

An Airbus A320 is transformed into a field lab for hydrogen technology in Hamburg. The Hydrogen Aviation Lab of Lufthansa Technik, DLR, ZAL and Hamburg Airport is taking shape Hamburg's Senator for Economic Affairs Westhagemann: “We’ve enabled a unique project” Aircraft hull in new design, installation of hydrogen components scheduled for the coming months.

Boarding completed: mint:pink im ZAL

Initiatives such as NAT, mint:pink, ProTechnicale and others are intended to get students excited about (natural) scientific and technical topics. Thanks to committed colleagues, ZAL is a strong supporter of these programs, namely when engineers and researchers at ZAL take the time to talk and give hands-on introductions to their favorite topics.

Go-ahead in Berlin

28th September in Berlin, Federal Minister Dr. Volker Wissing handed over the funding documents for the joint research project LiquiDrone. Which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs and Transport with a total of 892,000 euros. LiquiDrone's research focuses on the storage of liquid hydrogen (LH2) as a sustainable energy source for drones. 

Science Slam 2022 a Great Success

At the Science Slam 2022, six slammers with a scientific background once again proved that research also has its share of humor. Topics of the evening were: mobility of tomorrow, hydrogen, chaos and circular economy, green IT as well as space and greenhouses. Beforehand, the slammers received 2×4 hours of professional coaching to perfect their […]