Brown: Minnesota helium could lift airship reboot

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

When I say “airship,” you might think of the Goodyear Blimp, now celebrating 100 years of advertising tires by slowly hovering above outdoor sporting events. Or, if you’re drawn to the macabre, recall the Hindenburg, the German hydrogen airship that burst into flames while landing at Lakehurst, N.J., in 1937, killing 36 people.

It’s hard to live down, “Oh, the humanity.”

And yet, we tolerate far worse disasters without closing our minds to modern methods of air travel. On Wednesday, at least 260 people died when an Air India flight crashed into a medical school in Ahmedabad. In January, 67 souls perished when a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger jet over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.

But what if I told you that modern airships, filled with nonflammable helium, could safely move cargo, even passengers, with game-changing fuel efficiency? What if experts say that airships are uniquely suited for places with lots of agriculture and lakes? Furthermore, Minnesota might be one of the best places to develop this technology because of a rich new supply of helium recently discovered here.

Let’s begin by acknowledging all the reasons you may be justifiably skeptical of my newfound enthusiasm.

Blimps are huge. It takes a cubic meter of helium to lift a kilogram of weight, which requires girth. Goodyear’s airships are as long as a football field. The Hindenburg was 803 feet long.

And yes, the word “blimp” sounds uncool, but in most cases, we’re not really talking about blimps. Even the Goodyear Blimp isn’t really a blimp. More common are rigid or semirigid airships. Both inflate gas bags inside of a larger frame or structure. This allows more durability, cargo storage and improved maneuverability.

Sure, airships are slow. They travel around 10% of the speed of a jet airplane but move faster than a cargo ship or freight train and at about the same speed as a tractor-trailer. What they lack in speed, however, they make up for in versatility. Airships don’t require roads or rails. They span oceans and impassable terrain with the ability to land in remote places, like helicopters do.

“With an airship, you can get pretty much anywhere in three to five days,” said Gregory Gottlieb, chairman of the Airship Association, when he spoke to me from Dubai.

Gottlieb has worked with airships his whole life, beginning with a career in the British Army, where he was involved in a classified airship program. His experience helps him imagine airships in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

“When the original British hybrid airship design was being tested in model form, they literally built a lake on the airfield to test it because it was more effective than using a grass landing,” said Gottlieb.

Airships are also well-suited to transport certain agricultural products. Anything that’s too perishable for ocean freighters, but doesn’t need overnight jet service, is ideal for airship travel. Furthermore, airships offer a completely smooth ride with no vibrations, meaning that produce is less likely to be spoiled.

Dr. Barry Prentice, economist and director of the University of Manitoba Transport Institute in Winnipeg, is one of the world’s most outspoken airship advocates. He said that developing airships, which received little attention from investors after the Hindenburg disaster, could have a multiplier effect on other industries.

“New transportation technologies have a tremendous impact on associated industries and trade,” said Prentice. “Before the railway came to Manitoba, Winnipeg wasn’t much more than a trading post. It wasn’t much different for St. Paul and Minneapolis. Railways created an explosion. Things we haven’t even dreamed of might come along because that’s how markets and technology work.”

One example Prentice floated was that an airship could send Minnesota turkeys to Chile and return with bananas. No ships. No trains. And significantly fewer trucks.

The University of Minnesota created the beloved Honeycrisp apple, which is now largely grown in the Pacific Northwest because of transportation logistics. Airships would allow commercially viable apple farms to operate in the Midwest again.

Airship engines are electric and can be run off hydrogen cells with no carbon emissions. They are considerably more efficient than planes or helicopters. Gottlieb said that’s because half the work of flying comes from staying in the air. Lifting with helium means that the only fuel spent is used to move the craft.

That brings us to the biggest question of all. How on earth could Minnesota be a player in airships?

We can find the answer down a couple of pipes drilled thousands of feet into hard rock near Babbitt in northeastern Minnesota. This year, the Canadian company Pulsar Helium has been testing a helium reserve discovered during mining test drilling in 2011. They’ve found some of the highest concentrations of helium in the world, and recent findings also show a significant amount.

I’ve spoken with Thomas Abraham-James, CEO of Pulsar Helium, several times over the past year. His company’s entire model is based on the intense demand for helium as a coolant, bonding agent and, yes, a lifting gas. He said our state’s location could be a big part of industrial growth surrounding helium.

“Minnesota could become the flywheel for the whole system,” said Abraham-James.

But for airships to take off, we must first figure out the cost structure.

Gottlieb explained that existing airships used for advertising, surveillance and communication cost about $4 million. More advanced airships run up to $12 million, but a big part of that expense is the initial load of helium, which has skyrocketed in price over the past 20 years.

Proximity to helium is important. Because helium slowly escapes all forms of storage, the closer you are to the source, the less leakage you experience during shipping. That adds value to buyers of large quantities of helium.

“No one has a lock on the manufacture of airships,” said Prentice. “Industries stay where they start. Minnesota could jump in.”

Prentice said that it will take time to change minds about airships, but that the research is encouraging. Last week has given the world another tragedy to mourn in the ever-evolving industry of air travel. The next step, as always, is to investigate the cause and seek to eliminate its recurrence. With Minnesota about to become a player in the helium industry, airships are one idea we should float, if only to see where the wind takes it.