(Kemble / Great Britain) – British-American Zero Avia Inc. has sent its hydrogen-electric test aircraft into the air for its first flight. The converted 19-seat Dornier 228 completed a ten-minute complete circuit after taking off from the company's research site at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire, UK.
The flight is part of the “HyFlyer-II” project, which is supported by the British government’s ATI program. The goal is to develop a 600 kilowatt powertrain for aircraft with 9 to 19 seats.
Batteries for backup
The twin-engine aircraft was converted to feature Zero Avia's hydrogen-electric propulsion on the left wing, which then operates alongside a single Honeywell TPE-331 engine on the right wing. “In this test configuration, the hydrogen-electric powertrain consists of two fuel cell stacks, with lithium-ion battery packs supporting peak power during startup and providing additional redundancy for safe testing,” the company said.
Tanks instead of seats
In this configuration, the hydrogen tanks and fuel cell power generation systems were housed in the cabin. In a commercial configuration, external storage would be used and the seats would be reinstalled.
All systems worked as expected. This is “the largest Zero Avia drive tested to date” and puts the company “on the direct path to a certifiable configuration” this year.
Airplanes with 90 seats
The engine technology with drive power of two to five megawatts should be scaled for aircraft with up to 90 seats. Zero Avia wants to offer commercial routes with this technology by 2025. The Dornier 228 will conduct a series of test flights from Kemble and later demonstration flights from other airports.
About two years ago, Zero Avia conducted the first of more than 30 flights with a six-seat Piper Malibu equipped with a 250-kilowatt hydrogen-electric propulsion system.
Hydrogen was produced on site using “HARE”.
Green hydrogen is produced for flight operations using a tank system called the “Hydrogen Airport Refueling Ecosystem” (HARE). © Zero Avia
Propulsion was provided by compressed gaseous hydrogen, which was produced on site using an electrolyzer. To enable hydrogen production, Zero Avia and HyFlyer II partner European Marine Energy Center (EMEC) delivered and operated the Hydrogen Airport Refueling Ecosystem (HARE). This shows what “the infrastructure for the production, storage and refueling of green hydrogen and for flights with fuel cells” will look like in the future. The system's electrolyzer capacity was doubled from the original design for the latest project earlier this year.
The “HyFlyer II” program to develop the ZA-600 hydrogen-electric engine is being carried out in partnership with EMEC and Aeristech and supported by the UK Government under the ATI program and by the Department for Business, Energy Industrial Strategy, Innovate UK and Aerospace Technology Institute.
Next step: flight over 300 nautical miles
In recent months, Zero Avia has had a number of commercial successes achieved. These include an engine order from American Airlines, a partnership agreement with OEM Textron Aviation and infrastructure partnerships with airports such as Rotterdam, Edmonton International and AGS Airports.
With 1.500 engines pre-ordered, partnerships with seven aircraft manufacturers and a range of fuel and airport partnerships, Zero Avia is “well positioned to lead the industry’s transformation towards a cleaner future,” the company said. At the end of the program this year, a flight with a 19-seater aircraft over a distance of 300 nautical miles (a good 555 kilometers) is planned.
Photos
Zero Avia completed the first lap in Gloucestershire, UK, with a hydrogen-powered 19-seater Dornier 228. © Zero Avia
