– Leading innovator in aviation decarbonization makes major breakthrough with first hydrogen fuel cell flight of commercial-size aircraft
LONDON, seven Feb. 24, 2020 / PRNewswire / – ZeroAvia, the leading innovator in decarbonizing commercial aviation, completed the world’s first flight powered by a hydrogen fuel cell from a commercial grade aircraft The flight took place at the facilities yesterday Company R&D in Cranfield, England with the six-seat Piper M-class aircraft doing taxi, take-off, full circuit and landing
Achieving ZeroAvia is the first step towards realizing the transformational possibilities of switching from fossil fuels to zero-emission hydrogen as the primary energy source for commercial aviation Ultimately, and without any new science fundamental requirement, hydrogen aircraft will match the flight distances and payload of the current fossil fuel aircraft
This major step on the road to zero-emission commercial flight is part of the HyFlyer Project, a sequential R&D program supported by the UK government and follows the UK’s first commercial-scale battery-powered electric flight in the same plane in June ZeroAvia will now turn its attention to the next and final step in its six-seat development program – a 250-mile zero-emission flight out of an Orkney airfield before the end of the year Demonstration of this range is roughly equivalent to busy main roads such as Los Angeles to San Francisco or London to Edinburgh
Val Miftakhov, CEO of ZeroAvia comments: « It’s hard to put into words what this means for our team, but also for anyone interested in zero emission flight While some experimental aircraft have flown using hydrogen fuel cells as a power source, the size of this commercially available aircraft shows that paying passengers could board a truly zero-emission flight very soon. The whole team at ZeroAvia and our partner companies can be proud of their work in getting us to this point, and I also want to thank our investors and the UK government for their support. »
Aviation Minister Robert Courts said: « Aviation is a hotbed of innovation and the fantastic technology of ZeroAvia brings us all closer to a sustainable future for air travel Through our revolutionary Jet Zero partnership, we are working hard with industry to drive innovation in zero carbon flight, and we look forward to seeing the industry grow stronger. »
Business and Industry Minister Nadhim Zahawi said: « Developing planes that create less pollution will help the UK make significant strides towards achieving net zero carbon emissions by here 2050 Supported by government funding, this flight is another exciting milestone in ZeroAvia’s project.It shows that technologies to clean up air travel are now within reach – with enormous potential to build back better and spur clean economic growth in the world. UK »
The ZeroAvia UK innovation program is partly funded by the UK Government’s Institute for Aerospace Technology (ATI) program Under the HyFlyer Project, ZeroAvia is collaborating with key partners, the Center European Marine Energy (EMEC) and Intelligent Energy, to decarbonize small mid-range passenger aircraft by demonstrating powertrain technology to replace conventional propeller-driven aircraft engines Intelligent Energy will optimize its high-power fuel cell technology for aviation application while EMEC, a producer of green hydrogen from renewable energies, will supply the hydrogen required for flight tests and develop a platform for mobile refueling compatible with the aircraft
Recently, ZeroAvia was also invited by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to join the UK JetZero Council and help the UK achieve the ambitious goal of achieving the world’s first zero-emission long-haul passenger flight
Gary Elliott, CEO of the Aerospace Technology Institute, said: « This is an important milestone for HyFlyer and UK Aerospace, and we extend our congratulations to the team. It is by supporting projects such as HyFlyer and new and innovative companies such as ZeroAvia that ATI aims to realize our vision of a future sustainable aviation and to secure a lead for UK aerospace in the highly global market. competitive »
In addition to all the aeronautical work, ZeroAvia and EMEC have developed the Hydrogen Refueling Ecosystem (HARE) at Cranfield Airport – a microcosm of what the airport hydrogen ecosystem will look like in terms of Green hydrogen production, storage, refueling and fuel cell powered flight This is also another world first – a fully operational airport hydrogen production and refueling facility for propulsion of primary commercial aircraft
This successful flight represents good news for the role of the aviation industry in supporting the net zero transition, but also raises hopes for innovation that may reduce medium-term business challenges, particularly important for the industry as it considers post-pandemic recovery ZeroAvia’s hydrogen electric powertrain is expected to have lower operating costs than its jet-powered competitors due to lower fuel and maintenance costs The company plans to control the production and supply of hydrogen for its powertrains and other commercial customers, significantly reducing fuel availability and pricing risks for the entire market.
About ZeroAvia: ZeroAvia is a leader in zero emission aviation, focused on hydrogen electric aviation solutions to meet a variety of markets, initially targeting 500 mile range in aircraft of 10 to 20 seats used for commercial passenger transport, parcel delivery, agriculture, and more Based in London and California, ZeroAvia has already obtained experimental certificates for its two prototype aircraft, passing milestones of flight tests and is on track for commercial operations in 2023 The company’s expanding UK business is partially supported by grant from the UK Aerospace Technology Institute and Innovate UK, and ZeroAvia is part of the UK government’s Jet Zero Council To learn more, visit ZeroAviacom, follow @ZeroAvia on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn
About HyFlyer: The HyFlyer project aims to decarbonize small, medium-range passenger airplanes by demonstrating powertrain technology to replace conventional piston engines in propeller-driven airplanes
HyFlyer will demonstrate a staged approach from battery power to hydrogen power, incorporating the new technology aboard a Piper M-class aircraft, which will perform test flights initial departure from Cranfield and will culminate in a demonstration of 250 to 300 nautical miles (NM) flight out of an Orkney airfield
The project is led by ZeroAvia with project partners the European Center for Marine Energy (EMEC) and Intelligent Energy
The HyFlyer project is supported by the ATI program, a joint investment by government and industry to maintain and develop the UK’s competitive position in civil aerospace design and manufacturing The program, implemented in the part of a partnership between the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Innovate UK, addresses technology, capacity and supply chain challenges
Hydrogen-powered plane, Cranfield airport, airliner, hydrogen, Cranfield University
News from around the world – EN – ZeroAvia achieves the world’s first passenger plane flight hydrogen-electric
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
