H2FLY, a German start-up developing hydrogen fuel cell systems for aircraft, and Deutsche Aircraft, a new German aircraft manufacturer putting climate change at the centerstage of their design philosophy, announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together on the research and development of hydrogen fuel cell technology for commercial regional aircraft.
The two companies will collaborate to convert the Dornier 328 aircraft for hydrogen flight, with the first demonstrator aircraft expected to fly in 2025. The program is expected to demonstrate German leadership in this important field by validating the potential for hydrogen to deliver climate-neutral regional air travel with up to 40 seats.
H2FLY is a hydrogen fuel cell technology demonstration project that grew out of a collaboration between the German Aerospace Center and the University of Ulm. The four-seater hydrogen-electric-powered HY4 demonstrated the applicability of this technology in aviation in multiple flight campaigns and over 70 take-offs. Regional markets can be developed with its range of up to 750 km.
The team plans to equip the demonstrator aircraft with a 1.5MW hydrogen system, making it the most powerful hydrogen-electric-powered aircraft to date, marking the next step in the journey to making climate neutral regional flight a reality. The companies will collaborate on integrating the power system into the aircraft and defining the technical and certification requirements for fuel cell systems in EASA’s large aircraft class (CS25). The project will work in tandem with the German government’s aviation strategy.
Commenting on the announcement, Prof. Dr Josef Kallo, co-founder and CEO, H2FLY, said: “Flying provides an incredibly important opportunity for humankind, but today that opportunity comes at a significant cost to our planet. Hydrogen fuel cell technology provides an opportunity for us to completely eliminate carbon and NOx emissions from regional flights and the technology to make that happen is closer than most people think. Over the last 16 years we have worked hard to demonstrate our technology on smaller aircraft, completing record breaking flights based six powertrain generations. Today we’re pleased to be taking that to the next level with Deutsche Aircraft as we scale our efforts up to regional aircraft.”
Martin Nüßeler, CTO at Deutsche Aircraft, added: “Deutsche Aircraft is convinced that the higher propulsive efficiency of propeller powered aircraft will drive the change in propulsion technology and will result in reducing fuel consumption and emissions even further in the future. Combining modern propeller aircraft design with zero carbon energy sources is central to achieving climate-neutral air transportation. We are looking forward to partner with companies that do not only share our passion for the environment, but also have the technical expertise to ensure that climate-optimised aviation stays safe and reliable, we are convinced the partnership with H2FLY will move us forward on the path to applying hydrogen fuel cells in larger aircraft.”
