ZeroAvia Makes Aviation History, Flying World's Largest Aircraft Powered with a Hydrogen-Electric Engine

Zero-emission flight took a giant step forward today with ZeroAvia flying the largest aircraft in the world to be powered by a hydrogen-electric engine. The leader in zero-emission aviation took to the skies for the maiden flight of its 19-seat Dornier 228 testbed aircraft, retrofitted with a full-size prototype hydrogen-electric powertrain on the left wing of the aircraft.

The flight took place from the company's R&D facility at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire, UK, and lasted 10 minutes. At 13.35 pm GMT this afternoon the aircraft completed taxi, take-off, a full pattern circuit, and landing. The landmark flight forms part of the HyFlyer II project, a major R&D programme backed by the UK Government's flagship ATI Programme, which targets development of a 600kW powertrain to support 9-19 seat aircraft worldwide with zero-emission flight. 

The twin-engine aircraft was retrofitted to incorporate ZeroAvia's hydrogen-electric engine on its left wing, which then operated alongside a single Honeywell TPE-331 stock engine on the right. In this testing configuration, the hydrogen-electric powertrain comprises two fuel cell stacks, with lithium-ion battery packs providing peak power support during take-off and adding additional redundancy for safe testing. In this testbed configuration, hydrogen tanks and fuel cell power generation systems were housed inside the cabin. In a commercial configuration, external storage would be used and the seats restored.

All systems performed as expected. This is the largest ZeroAvia engine tested to date, and places the company on the direct path to a certifiable configuration to be finalized and submitted for certification in 2023, with this programme also serving as key to unlocking speedy technology development for larger aircraft. ZeroAvia's 2-5 MW powertrain programme, already underway, will scale the clean engine technology for up to 90-seat aircraft, with further expansion into narrowbody aircraft demonstrators over the next decade.

Of note, this flight test campaign is being conducted under a full Part 21 flight permit with the UK CAA, which is a much more stringent set of requirements compared to the E-Conditions framework ZeroAvia used for its 6-seat prototype test flights in the prior years. This signifies the maturity of the company's processes and design approaches and its readiness to proceed towards full commercial certification of its powerplants.

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) Collaborating with ZeroAvia to Develop Hydrogen Powertrain for Dornier 228 Zero-Emission Aircraft

 

HAL & ZeroAvia will develop a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) to incorporate a 600KW hydrogen-electric powertrain system into a Dornier 228 aircraft.

HAL intends to offer retrofits to existing Dornier & Hindustan-228 Aircraft and line fit new manufactured Dornier & Hindustan-228 Aircraft.

The aircraft will use the ZeroAvia ZA600, the company's first commercial type powertrain platform, capable of producing up to 600 kW without emissions.

ZeroAvia, the leading innovator in zero-emission aviation, has announced a development collaboration with the Indian state-owned aerospace & defence company Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for a hydrogen-electric powertrain capable of flying the 19 seats Dornier 228 aircraft up to 500 NM.

HAL intends to work with ZeroAvia to develop a Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) to allow retrofit of existing airframes for both Indian military and worldwide operators. HAL also intends to continue to build new aircraft with additional FAA approval, designated Hindustan-228, creating the opportunity to incorporate ZeroAvia's ZA600 zero-emission engines. Additionally, HAL and ZeroAvia engineers will integrate ZeroAvia's ZA600 hydrogen-electric powertrain into the Dornier 228 airframe. ZeroAvia will work closely with HAL and aircraft regulators during this project to ensure that aircraft meets both safety and operational requirements.

Approximately 270 Dornier 228 aircraft have been manufactured globally, with 242 currently in service. The production line of Do-228 aircraft is operational at HAL, India (Transport Aircraft Division, Kanpur, UP, India). 

"HAL is committed to contributing to the protection and better development of the environment. This MoU with ZeroAvia has the potential to pave the way for zero emission regional connectivity.  We are looking forward to steering and supporting sustainable and environmentally friendly aviation in India and the world", says R Madhavan, CMD, HAL.

ZeroAvia expands its hydrogen-electric aviation programme with 19-Seat Dornier 228 aircraft

ZeroAvia is expanding its hydrogen-electric aviation programme with two 19-Seat Dornier 228 aircraft, one in the UK and one in the U.S. The aircraft have been provided by Aurigny in the UK and AMC Aviation in the U.S. and will allow ZeroAvia to enter the next phase in its quest towards clean hydrogen-electric aviation. Both aircraft were previously in service for regional flights in the US and UK, demonstrating the opportunity for carbon reduction on existing routes.

ZeroAvia's 19-seat R&D is part of HyFlyer II, the second ZeroAvia-led project backed by the UK Government to target the development of a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. As part of HyFlyer I, ZeroAvia successfully demonstrated a 250kW powerplant in a 6-seat aircraft across three flight test campaigns, achieving all the project's technical goals, including fuel-cell only cruise flight. All the learnings of HyFlyer I will be fully utilized in the development of a 600kW 19-seater powerplant in HyFlyer II.

For the 19-seat aircraft, two 600KW units of the company's hydrogen-electric powertrain will replace the aircraft's twin engines, along with hydrogen fuel tanks eventually holding 100kg of compressed gaseous hydrogen to support the 500-mile range of the commercial offering in 2024. Additionally, ZeroAvia is progressing the software, hardware, mechanical integration, and fuel cell balance-of-plant to the certifiable state. The 6-ton aircraft will have a range of 500 nautical miles.