(Hollister, USA / Kemble, England) – The British-American Zero Avia, Inc. and the US aircraft manufacturer Otto Aviation, LLC want to jointly equip Celera business aircraft with hydrogen propulsion. This is a new model for transcontinental flights that can accommodate 19 passengers.
Otto’s design offers “exceptionally low air resistance across the entire aircraft.” The design of the Celera 500L's fuselage, tailplane and wings takes advantage of laminar flow to minimize surface drag. In conjunction with fuel-efficient propulsion systems, operating costs would be significantly reduced thanks to lower maintenance and falling prices for hydrogen and the range would be increased compared to comparable aircraft.
Range over 1.800 kilometers
The fuselage of the machine is well suited to accommodate large amounts of hydrogen, enabling flights of 1.000 nautical miles (1.852 kilometers). Such long-range hydrogen-electric aircraft play “an important role in eliminating all climate impacts of aviation,” Otto Aviation CEO William Otto said in announcing the partnership. The aim is to “offer the most efficient aircraft” by “minimizing maintenance and operating costs and reducing emissions”.
Most of the Zero Avia deals to date have focused “on retrofitting existing aircraft, which is essential for bringing zero-emission aircraft to market as quickly as possible,” says founder and CEO Val Miftakhov. “However, efficiency gains from the development of new airframes can further increase the impact of zero-emission aviation.”
Certification by 2024
The development of the 600-kilowatt powertrain is part of the HyFlyer II project, which is expected to deliver a fully certified powertrain for aircraft with up to 2024 seats by 19. HyFlyer II is supported by the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) and the UK industrial funding program Innovate UK.
After flying several six-seat prototypes, Zero Avia says it is preparing its first 19-seat prototype for a maiden flight “in the coming weeks.” The company is also upgrading a Dornier test stand in Hollister, California, to conduct further flight testing.
Zero Avia aims to develop hydrogen-electric aviation solutions initially for ranges of 300 miles in 10- to 20-seat aircraft by 2024 and up to 1.000 miles in 40- to 80-seat aircraft by 2026. The company has already received the necessary certificates from the British and American aviation authorities Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its two experimental aircraft prototypes. “A number of important partnerships have also been concluded with major aircraft manufacturers and major global airlines.”
Celera series production planned from 2025
Otto Aviation, founded in 2008, had the first phase of testing of its Celera 500L aircraft in November last year 
officially completed with a total of 55 flights and around 51 hours of flight time. Speeds of over 250 miles per hour (402 kilometers per hour) were reached at altitudes of up to 15.000 feet (4,5 kilometers).
Sustainable fuel was used in the last test flight of the first phase. The next development phase aims to take the aircraft to greater altitudes at higher speeds, said managing director William Otto at the time. The goal is to go into series production in 2025.
Photo above
Zero Avia and Otto Aviation are working together to integrate hydrogen engines into Otto's Celera aircraft. © Zero Avia, Inc
Celara test flight: The photo was taken from an accompanying aircraft that was also able to observe the laminar flows using an infrared camera. © Otto Aviation, LLC
