ZeroAvia, the leader in hydrogen-electric solutions for aviation, today announced a partnership with its strategic investor Shell1, which will design and construct two commercial-scale mobile refuelers for use at ZeroAvia’s research and development facility in Hollister, California.
The news follows recent optimistic forecasts on the declining cost trajectory of hydrogen fuel and a flurry of State-led activity for establishing H2 Hubs as the Department of Energy prepares to accept bids from throughout the United States.
Shell will send compressed, low-carbon hydrogen to ZeroAvia’s Hollister test facility and other places in the Western United States. This strategic partnership will promote the expansion of ZeroAvia’s flight testing program in the United States following the arrival of its second Dornier 228 at Hollister last month and will further the company’s Hydrogen Airport Refueling Ecosystem (HARE).
ZeroAvia’s emission-free powertrains employ hydrogen fuel in a fuel cell to generate electricity through a chemical reaction. This electricity is then used to power electric motors that spin the propellers while emitting only water.
“Shell recognizes the aviation sector has unique challenges in decarbonization and needs practical and scalable net-zero solutions,” said Oliver Bishop, General Manager, Hydrogen at Shell. “We believe ZeroAvia’s technology is a viable option, and this agreement will allow us to demonstrate successful provision of low-carbon hydrogen supply while supporting development of codes, standards, and refueling protocols for hydrogen-powered aviation.”
The agreement with Shell coincides with the unveiling of Europe’s first landside-to-airside hydrogen airport pipeline by ZeroAvia. The 100-meter-long hydrogen pipeline runs alongside the hangar of ZeroAvia at Cotswold Airport in the United Kingdom.
In conjunction with an electrolyzer and mobile refueler, the business will employ low-carbon hydrogen for its test flight program. The pipeline will aid ZeroAvia in demonstrating and investigating the operational safety case for hydrogen pipelines and refueling infrastructure at airports.
ZeroAvia got support for the pipeline from the UK Department for Transport and the Connected Places Catapult as part of the Zero Emission Flight Infrastructure (ZEFI) program, which enables airports and airfields to prepare for the future of zero-emission operations.
Both experiments also allow ZeroAvia to investigate the relationship between airplane refueling and landside hydrogen use cases, such as road transportation. ZeroAvia employs many hydrogen fuel cell road cars as part of its operations at Cotswold Airport and Hollister, proving the possibility for airports to serve as hydrogen hubs for onward transportation and ground operations.
“These milestone announcements represent significant hydrogen infrastructure advancement for ZeroAvia and the industry,” said Arnab Chatterjee, VP Infrastructure, ZeroAvia. “Hydrogen-electric aviation is the only practical, holistic, and economically attractive solution to aviation’s growing climate change impact. Fuel provision needs to be economical and convenient for airlines to achieve operational cost benefits and ZeroAvia is leading these pioneering infrastructure developments together with leading partners like Shell.”
In addition, the company has collaborated with the Department of Transport and Connected Places Catapult on a concept study for liquid hydrogen mobile refueling cars. This will inform ZeroAvia’s development of a large-scale liquid hydrogen refueling truck, an essential step as the business transitions its powertrains from gaseous to liquid hydrogen to support larger aircraft.
ZeroAvia will begin flight testing its ZA600 hydrogen-electric powertrain this summer utilizing its two Dornier-228 testbed aircraft, initially in the United Kingdom and later on the US-based demonstrator. This 600kW powertrain will be fully certified for aircraft with up to 19 seats by 2024, as part of Project HyFlyer II. HyFlyer II is supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), and Innovate UK through the ATI Programme. Additionally, the business is now retrofitting a second Dornier-228 testbed in Hollister, California in order to undertake additional flight testing.
This month, ZeroAvia also announced its cooperation with ZEV Station to establish hydrogen hubs at airports around California. These developments demonstrate ZeroAvia’s expertise in zero-emission powertrain technology and hydrogen infrastructure to enable the shift to cleaner aviation solutions.
