Comparative study of fuel types on solid oxide fuel cell – gas turbine hybrid system for electric propulsion aircraft

•The SOFC-GT hybrid systems fueled by alkanes, ethanol and hydrogen are compared.•The thermodynamic and mass performance of systems with different fuels are studied.•The LH2-fueled system’s performance is the best, but its mass is the largest.•The endurance of the SOFC-GT aircraft using n-decane and n-octane is superior.•The n-decane-fueled aircraft can reduce CO2 emissions by innovating power systems.