A hydrogen-powered passenger plane being developed by the Swiss start-up Destinus will cut the current 20-hour flight duration between Europe and Australia to just over four hours.
After two years of testing, the business will conduct successful test flights of the Eiger prototype by the end of 2022. As of right now, Destinus has been selected by the Spanish Ministry of Science to take part in a strategic initiative and get funding to conduct additional research and development on a supersonic aircraft that uses hydrogen as fuel.
Spanish institutions, businesses, and technology hubs are all contributing to the €12 million effort. Building a facility to test hydrogen engines is a joint effort between Destinus and the Spanish engine manufacturer ITP Aero. The development of a testing facility near Madrid where the air-breathing hydrogen engines will be put through their paces will be funded by a grant from the Spanish government. The study of how to move objects using liquid hydrogen will be funded by a second grant project costing €15 million.
According to Destinus, its technology will cut the current flight time from Frankfurt to Sydney by eight hours to just four hours and fifteen minutes, and from Frankfurt to Shanghai by two hours and forty-five minutes. The endeavour is a component of Spain’s efforts to lead the pack in the creation of hydrogen-powered cars for use in a variety of transportation applications.
