ZeroAvia, a hydrogen-electric plane developer, has successfully completed the first flight of its 19-passenger aircraft less than a month after receiving a permit to fly from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority. This 10-minute maiden flight sets a world record for the largest aircraft powered by a hydrogen-electric engine, representing a watershed moment for clean aviation. Founded by Val Miftakhov, ZeroAvia is a zero-emission aviation company that creates planes with hydrogen-electric propulsion. Its mission is to develop zero-emission commercial aircraft operations by 2024, aiming for nine to nineteen-seat aircraft with a range of 300 miles. The next propulsion system will be a two to five-megawatt model with a 700-mile range goal.
ZeroAvia announced an additional $30M in funding last year to support the advancement of its hydrogen-electric plane technology, bringing total funds raised to $68M. Along with an additional $35M from United Airlines, the company has already received investments from Alaska Air Group.
The flight is part of the HyFlyer II project, which is supported by the UK Government’s flagship ATI Programme and aims to develop a 600kW powertrain to support 9-19 seat aircraft worldwide with zero-emission flight. This latest accomplishment builds on ZeroAvia’s previous achievements, which include 6-seat prototype flights of a Piper M-Class airframe in 2019 and the world’s first commercial-scale 6-seater hydrogen-electric powered flight in September 2020. In the United Kingdom, the 2020 prototype was part of the HyFlyer I program.
The aircraft’s powertrain includes two stacks of fuel cells, with lithium-ion battery packs providing additional redundancy and peak power support during takeoff. The testbed configuration housed hydrogen tanks and fuel cell power generation systems inside the cabin, but in a commercial setup, external storage would be used, and the seats would be restored. Electric batteries are being considered for some small aircraft, such as the flying taxi services offered by Volocopter and Lilium, but these would lack the performance of larger aircraft. Pipistrel, a light aircraft manufacturer, is developing hydrogen-powered planes, and Universal Hydrogen, a Los Angeles-based startup founded by former Airbus CTO Paul Eremenko, is developing a retrofitted powertrain and fuel distribution system.
The successful maiden flight of ZeroAvia’s 19-passenger aircraft represents a significant milestone in the development of zero-emission aviation. With its 600kW powertrain, ZeroAvia aims to develop zero-emission commercial aircraft operations by 2024, targeting nine to nineteen-seat aircraft with a range of 300 miles. This latest accomplishment builds on ZeroAvia’s previous achievements and highlights the rapid progress of zero-emission propulsion. Congratulations to everyone on the team and all partners and stakeholders for the collective effort that brought us to this monumental day in history.
