ZeroAvia, the pioneer in hydrogen-electric, zero-emission aircraft, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding and the establishment of a new cooperation with the hydrogen fuelling company ZEV Station to develop green hydrogen refueling infrastructure for California airports.
The companies will collaborate on the development of an initial regional airport project large enough to demonstrate how hydrogen-electric propulsion systems might enable zero-emission commercial flights. ZeroAvia will utilize its major research and development in hydrogen production and aircraft refueling, as well as ZEV Station’s extensive team experience in providing gaseous hydrogen for road vehicles, to design a unique hydrogen airport refueling system.
ZeroAvia wants to conduct flight demonstrations of hydrogen-electric aircraft from pilot airports as part of the agreement, utilizing the co-developed refueling environment and committed support from ZEV Station.
ZeroAvia has already created a completely operational microcosm of possible refueling operations. The Hydrogen Airport Refueling Infrastructure (HARE), created in collaboration with the European Marine Energy Center (EMEC) as part of the HyFlyer programs, has shown green hydrogen production all the way to airside fueling. Airports are high-demand locations, owing to the large volumes of hydrogen necessary to power aircraft. Busy hubs can generate economies of scale in hydrogen production, making it more cost effective to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from other sources, such as ground operations, onward transportation linkages, and nearby industries.
Arnab Chatterjee, VP, Infrastructure, ZeroAvia said:“There is enormous potential for airports to act as hydrogen hubs precisely because there will be significant demand—hydrogen-electric propulsion is the only practical, holistic and economically viable solution to the industry’s full climate impacts. California leads the world in the adoption of zero-emission vehicles thanks to forward-thinking policies and deployment of infrastructure, and zero-emission flight infrastructure at airports is the next natural frontier. ZeroAvia’s partnership with ZEV Station is going to be a significant part of that journey.”
ZEV Station, headquartered in Palm Springs, California, is developing a ground-breaking zero-carbon highway fuelling station that will accommodate both fuel cell and electric vehicles on the same forecourt. Their charging-only demonstration location is scheduled to launch at the end of next month. The first “Premier” ZEV Station capable of both charging and hydrogen production is currently undergoing permitting and is scheduled to open in early 2023. ZEV Station is developing a network of stations capable of producing their own hydrogen and supplying it to satellite stations.
Jesse Schneider, CEO/ CTO, ZEV Station, said:“The time is now to develop the path towards replacing fossil fuels. We see a unique synergy in our ground vehicle ‘hub & spoke’ hydrogen distribution model and aviation. For this, we are planning an aircraft fueling demonstration project together with ZeroAvia, also to increase utilization of a hydrogen delivery trailer. We jointly plan to collaborate to help accelerate fueling methodologies with public-private-partnerships such as the newly formed H2-Aero Team at the Vertical Flight Society. As a future step, there is great potential to take these learnings towards the creation of Zero Emission Airports with a large central hydrogen production at scale, an H2-Hub. This H2-Hub, with zero carbon energy, would generate a significant amount of green hydrogen on-site for both aircraft and vehicles. This could offset the need for carbon-based fuel at airports entirely, but there is a lot to be done to make this a common reality. ZEV Station sees the partnership with ZeroAvia as a key catalyst to help kickstart hydrogen fueling for aviation in California and beyond.”
ZeroAvia intends to collaborate with industry partners to expand hydrogen refueling ecosystems at airports worldwide. Shell is both an investor and a fuel partner for ZeroAvia, and the company has also teamed with Octopus Hydrogen to power its current flight testing program in the United Kingdom. Additionally, ZeroAvia is collaborating with Royal Schiphol Group, Rotterdam The Hague Innovation Airport Foundation, and the airport to build one of the world’s first commercial zero-emission routes between London and Rotterdam The Hague Airport.
The company’s zero-emission powertrains generate electricity through an electrochemical reaction inside a fuel cell system, which is then used to power electric motors that drive the propellers. Apart from water, the system creates no emissions.
ZeroAvia will begin flight testing its hydrogen-electric powertrain in the coming weeks on its Dornier-228 testbed aircraft. This work, which is a component of the HyFlyer II project, will result in a fully certified 600kW model for aircraft with up to 19 seats by 2024. It is being funded by the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), and Innovate UK through the ATI Program. By 2026, the business intends to scale up its technology to 40–80 seat aircraft, beginning this year with ground tests of the 1.8 megawatt power plant prototypes.
