Hydrogen-powered planes take off with startup’s take a look at flight

Aviation accounts for about 3% of world greenhouse gasoline emissions, and the trade is rising shortly. Whereas airways and a few trade teams have pledged to chop emissions to net-zero by 2050, the calls for of flying are troublesome to attain with out fossil fuels. 

Hydrogen gas cells signify one doable route that some firms hope will help cut back emissions from the aviation trade, however to make vital cuts, the know-how would should be scaled as much as energy comparatively massive plane.

“That is placing us straight on the trail to industrial launches,” mentioned Val Miftakhov, ZeroAvia founder and CEO, in a press convention saying the outcomes of the take a look at flight. 

ZeroAvia has raised over $140 million in funding from buyers, together with United Airways and American Airways, in addition to Breakthrough Power Ventures, Invoice Gates’s power enterprise fund. The corporate has additionally acquired over 1500 pre-orders from clients for its hydrogen fuel-cell programs, in response to Miftakhov.

The startup has been flying take a look at flights for a number of years with smaller planes, with various levels of success. In 2021, one was compelled to land and the airplane was broken after the battery backup system was shut off. With solely the hydrogen gas cells operating, the airplane misplaced energy to its electrical motors. 

The battery system supported the latest January 2023 take a look at flight of the 19-seat airplane, which was delayed from summer time 2022. Batteries provided about 50% of the ability to the left facet of the plane for the entire flight, with the hydrogen gas cell system supplying the opposite 50%.