Octopus Hydrogen, Octopus Energy Group’s newly established hydrogen arm, will supply ZeroAvia’s R&D center at Cotswold Airport in the United Kingdom with 100 percent green hydrogen during the testing, certification, and first commercial operations of its hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrain technology.
In order to power its HyFlyer II project, ZeroAvia will supplement on-site electrolysis hydrogen production with supply from Octopus Hydrogen. The HyFlyer II project is a UK Government-backed program to develop a certifiable 600 kW hydrogen-electric fuel cell powertrain that will power a 19-seat aircraft with a 500 nautical mile range.
ZeroAvia intends to commercialize this powertrain technology by 2024, allowing for the early adoption of commercial zero-emission flights. Octopus Hydrogen will deliver more than 250 kg of green, fuel cell quality, high pressure hydrogen to ZeroAvia’s mobile refueling unit per day.
According to the UK Government’s Hydrogen Strategy, aviation is a key future use case for green hydrogen. ZeroAvia and HyFlyer project partners have already created the Hydrogen Airport Refueling Ecosystem (HARE), which includes an on-site electrolyzer.
This technology powered the ground-breaking flight testing of a six-seat Piper Malibu aircraft as part of HyFlyer I and is still in operation as part of HyFlyer II. The corporation determined that an additional ready source of green hydrogen was required to supplement on-site production for the larger program.
Octopus Hydrogen will deliver fuel-cell quality green hydrogen in batches ranging from 200 kg to 1000 kg at 350 or 700 bar. The price per kilogram starts at £5.30. Hydrogen is transported directly to customer sites using zero-emission hydrogen-powered HGVs equipped with mobile hydrogen storage and dispensing solutions.
