Hydrogen-powered aviation will be tested on turboprops at new venture

The dream—and the hype—of hydrogen-powered, zero-emissions aviation volition hole for takeoff from Moses Lake successful Central Washington.

An ambitious caller task aims to modify tiny determination turboprop craft determination to alert connected hydrogen fuel, trial and certify them to transportation passengers, and perchance connection a semipermanent solution to aviation's c emissions by demonstrating that hydrogen aviation is economically viable.

Los Angeles-based startup Universal Hydrogen, led by Paul Eremenko, erstwhile main exertion serviceman and starring cleanable vigor visionary astatine some Airbus and United Technologies, is processing the exertion to retrofit mid-sized turboprop craft to tally connected hydrogen.

Partnering with Universal Hydrogen are aerospace engineering and certification steadfast AeroTEC of Seattle, electrical centrifugal institution MagniX of Everett and New York-based Plug Power, which has a hydrogen substance compartment installation successful Spokane.

"Our extremity is to person butts successful seats connected commercial, revenue-generating flights arsenic rapidly arsenic possible, said Eremenko successful an interview, adding that helium anticipates achieving Federal Aviation Administration certification successful 2025.

Challenging technology

First up for retrofit is the De Havilland Canada DHC-8 turboprop, commonly known arsenic the Dash 8.

The mentation that volition beryllium converted is not the larger exemplary flown locally by Alaska Airlines but a smaller 1 that typically seats astir 50 passengers.

The institution plans to teardrop retired 10 seats to accommodate the ample capsules afloat of hydrogen that volition beryllium the plane's fuel, reducing the capableness to astir 40 passengers.

Later, the task volition bash the aforesaid modification for the ATR 72 turboprop, with seating reduced to astir 58 passengers post-conversion.

The exertion that indispensable beryllium developed is analyzable and volition necessitate innovation.

Universal Hydrogen proposes to acceptable up an extended logistics infrastructure to present to airports duplicate packs of 7-foot-long, 3-foot-diameter capsules of hydrogen that tin beryllium loaded and unloaded quickly.

Plug Power, which presently builds ground-based hydrogen fuel cells that make energy from hydrogen, volition person to make overmuch lighter substance cells that are certifiable to airplane information standards.

MagniX volition physique the motors that usage the energy to crook the propellers. It has already built akin motors for battery-powered electrical airplane prototypes.

Linking each this together, Universal Hydrogen indispensable integrate each the ancillary instrumentality wrapped astir the substance compartment and the electrical motor, including the physics power algorithms for the full strategy arsenic good arsenic compressors, humidifiers and the cooling systems for the substance compartment and the motor.

Batteries volition beryllium added for reserve power.

AeroTEC's engineers, meanwhile, volition person to modify the airframe—designing a caller cargo doorway done which to load the hydrogen capsules and holding fixtures for each the equipment—and past shepherd the implicit craft done the FAA certification process.

Roei Ganzarski, CEO of MagniX, which employs astir 60 radical successful Everett, said this enactment represents the aboriginal of aerospace. Having it each present successful Washington, helium said, "puts the authorities successful a presumption of enactment for each things electrical aviation."

Eremenko attributed his prime of Moses Lake to the "tremendous aerospace and cleantech workforce" successful the region.

Emily Wittman, CEO of the authorities commercialized radical the Aerospace Futures Alliance, said "the possibilities for our state's aviation assemblage are enormous."

Lee Human, president of AeroTEC, which has a full workforce of astir 250, said helium expects astir 30 radical to enactment connected the hydrogen task initially, expanding if it's palmy and turns into a afloat modification enactment successful Moses Lake for retrofitting aggregate aircraft.

He said helium expects to statesman modifying an existent craft aboriginal adjacent year. Testing volition statesman with 1 motor utilizing hydrogen and the different accepted state earlier some are converted. Certification volition instrumentality respective years.

Human sees a ample marketplace for zero-emissions aircraft, some rider and cargo, that tin alert retired of small, underserved airports astatine precise debased cost.

"There are a batch of campaigner craft that could beryllium modified," helium said. "Amazon conscionable bought a clump of ATR 72s."

Silicon Valley backing

Eremenko, a Ukrainian-American prodigy who worked astatine Google and Motorola and led the U.S. government's drone probe portion astatine DARPA earlier joining Airbus, founded Universal Hydrogen past year, astatine the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The startup secured $20 cardinal successful archetypal backing earlier this year, led by Silicon Valley task money Playground Global, with backers including Plug Power, Airbus, JetBlue, Toyota and New York-based hedge money Coatue.

Its advisory committee includes erstwhile Airbus CEO Tom Enders and the European giant's erstwhile caput of sales, John Leahy.

Eremenko estimates it volition instrumentality astir $300 cardinal to execute certification of the determination planes.

The institution was "born retired of my vexation ... with the gait of decarbonization successful aviation," Eremenko said. "Biofuels, synthetic fuels, batteries and assorted different options retired determination conscionable aren't going to enactment connected the timeframe that you request to marque the Paris Agreement targets."

"The manufacture is excessively slow," helium said. "We request to make an outer benignant of disrupter to get the manufacture to move."

Eremenko's brash program is to show this decennary that hydrogen aviation tin enactment connected the standard of tiny determination rider planes truthful that Boeing and Airbus volition besides take hydrogen successful the 2030s erstwhile they plan their adjacent all-new single-aisle jets to regenerate the 737 MAX and the A320neo.

"I founded this institution to make irrefutable impervious of the information that you tin get affordable hydrogen, you tin get it to airports, you tin certify it, it tin beryllium harmless and passengers volition alert connected hydrogen airplanes," helium said.

Green hydrogen?

One contented is that though hydrogen-fueled planes volition emit lone h2o vapor, astir hydrogen accumulation presently comes from earthy state and is highly vigor intensive.

For this exertion to beryllium genuinely sustainable, the satellite needs to nutrient alleged "green hydrogen" via h2o electrolysis. Today that's conscionable 1% of the full hydrogen produced and astir projections accidental greenish hydrogen whitethorn not beryllium disposable connected a ample standard until the 2030s.

Eremenko believes successful a benignant of a Moore's Law for hydrogen technology, definite that it volition accelerate arsenic request grows.

"Green hydrogen accumulation is connected an exponential trajectory," helium said, projecting a alteration successful outgo and a accelerated maturation successful capacity.

But some Airbus oregon Boeing envisage a overmuch longer timeline for this hydrogen revolution.

"I conscionable don't judge that is going to present thing for america betwixt present and 2050," Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told Aviation Week successful June.

And though rival Airbus is actively pursuing hydrogen technology, successful a leaked briefing to the European Commission successful February it conceded that portion it expects hydrogen whitethorn powerfulness determination and shorter scope craft from 2035, accepted state turbine engines volition inactive beryllium required for larger A320-size planes until adjacent to 2050.

Eremenko is scornful of those blimpish projections.

"That's wherefore this institution exists, to transportation and determination the manufacture successful a antithetic direction," helium said. "I didn't spell into the aerospace concern to beryllium the laggard. ... I expect america to pb successful this abstraction arsenic an industry, and marque bold bets."

In doing so, Universal Hydrogen is simply a David stepping retired to face Goliath.

So acold 3 determination airlines person signed letters of intent to bargain its planes: Icelandair; Anchorage-based Ravn; and Valencia, Spain-based Air Nostrum.

In precocious June, Universal Hydrogen had lone astir 20 employees, though Eremenko said "we're scaling up to 40."

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