ZeroAvia has flown what the aviation company claims is the largest aircraft yet to be run on a zero-emissions hydrogen-electric engine, testing a 19-seater plane over the skies of England.
The company flew a modified 19-seat Dornier 228 twin-engine aircraft with one prototype hydrogen-electric engine retrofitted on its left wing and a regular gas turbine engine, a Honeywell TPE-331, on its right wing.
The test flight saw the plane take off, fly and land at ZeroAvia's R&D facility at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire on 19 January.
ZeroAvia has test-flown a plane retrofitted with a hydrogen-electric engine
According to ZeroAvia, the flight shows the British-American company is on track to run its first hydrogen-powered commercial flight by 2025, with the aim of eventually scaling up the technology to larger planes. "This is a major moment, not just for ZeroAvia but for the aviation industry as a whole, as it shows that true zero-emission commercial flight is only a few years away," said ZeroAvia founder and CEO Val Miftakhov. "Our approach is the best solution to accelerate clean aviation at scale."
ZeroAvia uses hydrogen fuel cells, one of two major hydrogen-based technologies being explored for flight along with the hydrogen combustion engine.
The plane took off and landed at ZeroAvia's base in south-west England
In fuel cells, hydrogen is used to produce electricity and that electricity powers the propeller, instead of the hydrogen being burnt l...