An up-and-coming energy company is finding ways to manufacture a true zero-emissions aircraft, and they managed to take a huge step forward in their preliminary passenger flight which will be powered mostly on hydrogen.
On a 40-seat aircraft, a flight took off from the Grant County International Airport at 8:41 in the morning and few for at least 15 minutes, even reaching an altitude of 3,500 Mean Sea Level (MSL).
Conducted under an FAA Special Airworthiness Certificate, the flight was considered the first in a two-year flight test campaign that’s anticipated to finish in 2025, which will enter into ‘passenger service of ATR 72 regional aircraft converted to run on hydrogen.’
Moreover, representatives from other entries from likewise novice airlines that are also looking into creating their very own “smarter travel experience” were also there to supervise their own aircraft.
According to a report from Businesswire, Connect Airlines signed a purchase agreement recently with Universal Hydrogen co. for “75 hydrogen powertrains for their passenger jets.”
As shared by CEO of Connect Airlines, John Thomas, “Today will go down in the history books as the true start to the decarbonization of the global airline industry and we at Connect Airlines are extremely proud of the role that we, as the first US operator, will play in leading the way with Universal Hydrogen.”
In order to keep the airplane safe, just one of the ATR 72-600’s engines was replaced with Universal Hydrogen’s megawatt-class hydrogen fuel cell powertrains. This means that the technology was also not adapted, but instead, built precisely for aviation. They explain that the energy that’s generated by the burning of hydrogen actually feeds the electric motor directly. Because of this, there are no batteries on the plane, which help lessen the costs and weight issues that usually come with flying aircrafts.
Co-founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen, Paul Eremenko, said, “Our business model resolves the chicken-and-egg problem between hydrogen airplanes and hydrogen infrastructure by developing both in parallel and with a uniquely low-cost approach.”
“The airplanes are converted to hydrogen using an aftermarket retrofit conversion kit, tackling the existing fleet rather than developing a brand new airplane. And hydrogen fueling uses modular capsules compatible with existing freight networks and airport cargo handling equipment, making every airport in the world hydrogen-ready,” he added.
Considering 2.8% of the global greenhouse gas emissions come from worldwide air travel, solutions like this may very well help keep the air much cleaner. It’s believed that hydrogen fuel and biofuels are the two possible ways to decarbonize these emissions.
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