On June 24, the firm’s “first-of-its-kind” hydrogen-electric, vertical takeoff and landing (hVTOL) demonstrator completed a 532 sm (462 nm) flight—about the distance between San Francisco and San Diego—above Marina, California, home to the Joby’s test facility and pilot production line. The aircraft landed with more than 10 percent of its hydrogen fuel remaining, with water the only byproduct of the flight.

Joby believes the test, which included a vertical take off and landing, represented the first forward flight for a liquid hydrogen-powered eVTOL aircraft. The company said hydrogen is a key piece of its future plans.

“We’re excited to now be building a technology stack that could redefine regional travel using hydrogen-electric aircraft,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby. “Imagine being able to fly from San Francisco to San Diego, Boston to Baltimore, or Nashville to New Orleans, without the need to go to an airport and with no emissions except water. That world is closer than ever.”

The development signals a shift in Joby’s stated business philosophy, which before Thursday was centered around flying urban air mobility (UAM) routes within cities.

In a blog post penned by Bevirt and Raffaele Russo, business manager for new technologies at Joby, the company’s top brass said regional air mobility (RAM) is also on the agenda. The firm has alluded to a regional service before, but Thursday’s developments appear to confirm that one is in the works.

“Although the specific energy of batteries is improving, their weight will continue to limit the application of electric aircraft to short-distance travel,” the blog post reads. “To serve regional markets, we plan to use hydrogen to increase the potential range and payload of electric aircraft.”

Joby’s hydrogen-electric program builds on the technology developed by its subsidiary H2FLY, acquired in secret in 2021.

The manufacturer built the hydrogen-electric demonstrator by modifying one of its battery-electric aircraft, which has already flown more than 25,000 miles, with a hydrogen fuel tank capable of storing up to 40 kilograms of liquid, supercooled hydrogen. It includes a smaller battery cell, which provides extra power during takeoff and landing.

The design employs the same airframe and overall architecture as its battery-electric counterpart. It will use the same takeoff and landing sites and operations team, as well as ElevateOS—a proprietary, Uber-like software suite unveiled in June.

ElevateOS comprises a pilot app, rider app, operations suite, and matching system that connects riders with aircraft based on departure time, arrival time, and location. It includes an integration with the Uber app, allowing Uber customers to book Joby flights and vice versa.

The hydrogen-powered model also includes the H2F-175 hydrogen fuel cell, built by H2FLY, which produces electricity and heat with water as the sole byproduct. The fuel cell powers the aircraft’s six electric motors, which feed into tilting propellers that assist in both hover and forward flight, and charges the batteries while they are deactivated in cruise mode.

The technology was deployed about one year ago during a milestone H2FLY flight, which Joby claims was the first crewed flight of a hydrogen-electric aircraft with a runway takeoff.

According to Joby’s estimate, the hydrogen-electric model will have a greater payload than a battery-electric design or an aircraft using an equivalent amount of jet fuel.

Bevirt is also bullish on hydrogen production, pointing to the U.S. Department of Energy’s $7 billion investment in clean “hydrogen hubs.” He noted that hydrogen can be produced using a variety of low- or zero-emission sources such as wind or water power, which could help the aviation industry meet commitments to eliminate emissions by 2050.

“We recognize that broadly commercializing hydrogen will require doing the hard miles on regulation and infrastructure, along with fuel storage and distribution, but we have demonstrated that regional hydrogen-electric flight is possible today,” Bevirt and Russo wrote in Thursday’s blog post.

Bevirt said the bulk of the work Joby has done to certify its flagship, battery-electric air taxi will carry over to commercializing a hydrogen-electric variant. The company’s hydrogen-electric activities are supported by Agility Prime, the vertical lift technology division of the U.S. Air Force innovation arm, AFWERX.

“Agility Prime has been very supportive of hydrogen-powered aircraft development and testing as it aligns with the program’s goals to advance transformative vertical lift technologies and broader Department of Defense operational energy goals of energy substitution and diversification, and energy demand reduction,” said Jacob Wilson, acting branch chief of Agility Prime.

Joby is also collaborating with AFWERX’s Autonomy Prime division, which, as the name implies, develops self-flying aircraft.

The company in June acquired autonomous flight company Xwing for an undisclosed fee and intends to build a self-flying version of its flagship air taxi in the future, using Xwing’s Superpilot software. U.S. competitor Wisk Aero and Chinese eVTOL manufacturer EHang are among the handful of firms looking to fly autonomous air taxis at launch.

Joby aims to launch commercial operations with its flagship battery-electric air taxi in 2025, in partnership with Delta Air Lines. New York and Los Angeles are slated as the company’s first U.S. markets.

The aircraft is designed for a pilot to fly as many as four passengers on trips up to 100 sm (87 nm), cruising at 200 mph (174 knots). In the U.S., Joby will operate the model itself.

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The company showcased its Sirius CEO-Jet and Sirius Adventure Jet—the initial entrants into what it claims will be the first family of hydrogen-powered, zero-emission, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capable aircraft—on Thursday at the Move Expo in London.

The models will be powered by a hydrogen-electric powertrain and fuel tank—a propulsion system designed to extend flight time compared to fully electric models. Similar to the Lilium Jet, the aircraft will feature electric ducted fans embedded in fixed wings and canards to provide vertical lift.

Both the CEO-Jet and Adventure Jet are expected to emit less than 60 dBA of noise at a distance of 100 meters—about the volume of a typical conversation—using what Sirius describes as a “deflected vectored thrust” propulsion system. The company claims they will reduce noise by about 95 percent compared to helicopters.

The CEO-Jet, designed to seat three passengers, will serve the private business aviation segment, combining zero-emission flight with luxurious, customizable amenities.

The Adventure Jet, on the other hand, is designed primarily for passenger and cargo transport but can also handle medical evacuations, search and rescue, firefighting, surveillance, and offshore operations. It seats up to two pilots and as many as five passengers, with a maximum takeoff weight of about 7,700 pounds, handling point-to-point trips to remote destinations such as jungles or mountaintops. It will even have an inflatable pontoon, allowing it to glide over water.

The latter design comes equipped with GPS, Doppler radar, very high frequency (VHF) and ultra high frequency (UHF) radio, and a digital autopilot system capable of hover and approach.

“The CEO-JET offers an eco-friendly option for business travel, while the Adventure Jet opens new horizons for global tourism and exploration,” said Alexey Popov, CEO of Sirius.

Founded in 2021, Sirius set out to design an aircraft that could combine the aerodynamics of an airplane with the versatility of a helicopter. The concept for a family of hydrogen-powered business jets first emerged in January, and the company shared more information in the weeks leading up to Move Expo.

The Sirius Jet’s calling card is its propulsion system—a hydrogen-electric powertrain that energizes 28 electric ducted fans, 20 embedded in the wings and eight mounted in the canard. Together with a pressurized cabin, these fans are designed to help the aircraft reach an altitude of 30,000 feet.

The fans are linked individually to one of 28 electric motors, each weighing about 21 pounds and containing a proprietary thermal management system. Air drawn through the jet’s intake passes through a cooling system and into onboard liquid hydrogen tanks. It is then channeled to a fuel cell stack, which has a high weight-to-power density ratio ideal for storing hydrogen.

Within the fuel cell, hydrogen and oxygen react to create water and electricity, the latter of which is directed to a set of battery packs that power the electric motors. The packs recharge during flight, are active for only 90 seconds per flight cycle, and do not need to be replaced, Sirius says. Water, a byproduct, is released through the exhaust valve.

By Sirius’ estimate, it would cost only $500 to fully refill the fuel tank. The company further claims the propulsion system makes its aircraft more efficient than electric VTOL (eVTOL) counterparts.

The Lilium Jet, for example, has a range of about 155 sm (135 nm); the Sirius CEO-Jet will max out at around 1,150 sm (1,000 nm), while the Adventure Jet can reach that range using its additional fuel tanks. Further, the CEO-Jet’s cruise speed and Adventure Jet’s top speed—323 mph (280 knots)—is more than double the Lilium Jet’s (155 mph, or 135 knots).

A potential CEO-Jet network in the U.S. could encompass New York City, Chicago, Kansas City, Missouri, New Orleans, and Miami. The Adventure Jet, meanwhile, could connect San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix. According to Sirius, the network would offer “a 4-[time] improvement in travel efficiency compared to conventional methods” such as car or traditional airplane.

At the same time, the hydrogen-powered aircraft are billed as offering the luxury of a conventional business jet. Customers have the option, for example, to customize interior colors, upholstery, amenities—including champagne fridges, custom bathrooms, art installations, and kitchens—lighting, and flooring materials such as marble, hardwood, or carpet. Passengers can even pick the scent they smell when they enter the aircraft.

Both models are equipped with an airframe parachute system that deploys automatically in case of emergency, which Sirius claims reduces risk to “virtually zero.”

Sirius hopes to set up serial manufacturing and obtain certification for the Sirius Jet family before 2028. Next year, it expects to complete an inaugural flight using a demonstration plane and open sales of 50 business jets, with deliveries beginning in 2028. By the end of the decade, it intends to launch a shuttle network across the Americas, European Union, and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

So far, Sirius has received an order from Indian seaplane operator Mehair for 50 Adventure Jets plus 50 options, with another from Indonesian tourism firm Parq Development for five CEO-Jets and Adventure Jets apiece.

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Venture capital firm UP.Partners last week published the 2024 edition of its annual Moving World Report, a deep dive into the movers and shakers in aviation and transportation more broadly. Though the industry’s challenges are steep, the company believes the introduction of new aircraft types—such as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL), hydrogen-powered, and blended wing body designs—offers hope that they can be solved.

“Our goal with this report is to equip industry leaders, entrepreneurs, and policymakers with a comprehensive understanding of these changes, enabling them to effectively navigate and shape the future of mobility,” said Cyrus Sigari, co-founder and managing partner of UP.Partners.

UP.Partners, which holds stakes in a range of mobility-focused startups, estimated that the pilot shortage will grow to 65,000 by 2030. At the same time, transportation is the biggest culprit of U.S. carbon emissions, with aviation contributing an estimated 8 percent within the segment. Based on announced pledges, UP.Partners claims aviation emissions are expected to rise 79 percent between 2020 and 2030—theoretically, that figure would need to be capped at 22 percent to remain in line with global net-zero by 2050 targets.

These issues will need to be addressed quickly. And an influx of new intercity and long-distance air mobility options may be the catalyst.

The Innovation Problem

According to UP.Partners, there’s an “innovation problem” in commercial aviation.

As Stripe CEO Patrick Collison pointed out, the inception of the Boeing 737 design is now closer in time to the Wright Flyer than it is to the present day. At the same time, efficiency gains in carbon-emissions reduction have leveled off over the past 70 years.

According to the report, those gains are due almost entirely to engine development rather than airframe innovation. However, commercial airlines are exploring blended wing body designs—which UP.Partners called the first major airframe innovation during that span—and other sustainable configurations. The U.S. Air Force in August awarded startup JetZero a $250 million contract to develop a blended wing body demonstrator, and Airbus previously announced a similar concept.

Emissions reductions may improve further with the introduction of electric and hydrogen aircraft. The report predicts electric models will hit the market in 2025, followed by hydrogen fuel cell designs in 2030 and hydrogen combustion aircraft in 2040. 

However, that comes with the caveat that electrifying or switching to hydrogen “likely has a limited impact, at a huge cost.”

UP.Partners estimated that electrifying all flights less than two hours could reduce emissions by 28 percent, a respectable figure. But electrifying or using hydrogen for longer flights—which account for the remaining 72 percent of emissions—is not technically or financially feasible with current technology.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is expected to bridge the gap, contributing to 65 percent of emissions reductions by 2050 according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) projections. However, the report estimates that SAF is still 43 percent more expensive than conventional jet fuel. Bringing those costs in line could take more than a decade, it predicted.

UP.Partners also raised concerns that certain SAF commitments may be examples of “greenwashing.” RyanAir, for example, has pledged to obtain about 10 percent of its fuel from SAF by 2030. But the airline does not know exactly where it will come from.

“There isn’t enough cooking oil in the world to power one day of green aviation,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary said in December.

Electric Aircraft Have Arrived

Producing SAF and other sustainable fuels presents a massive challenge for aviation. But there are plenty of aircraft in development that will use them when the time comes.

In fact, many are already flying. The term drone may conjure up images of buzzing, microwave-sized aircraft. However, many designs resemble small cargo planes, with similar ranges and payloads. 

In 2023, electric drones completed 1 million deliveries. Commercial drone flights, meanwhile, have increased by 135 percent per year since 2018. Today, the aircraft mainly deliver air freight, parcels, and medical cargo. But the report predicts the pilot shortage will only accelerate the technology further, opening up even more use cases.

Adding to the momentum for drone delivery is its declining cost. According to UP.Partners research, the price is about $4 per delivery when a remote pilot is able to monitor multiple drones. That’s nearly one-third the price of a comparable automobile delivery, the firm said.

Per the report, Walmart is the world’s leading developer of drone delivery services outside of the war in Ukraine. In the past two years alone, the retailer completed more than 2,000 U.S. deliveries out of 36 hubs across seven states. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, 1.8 million households are now eligible for drone delivery through Walmart and its partners.

Amazon Prime Air, meanwhile, has faltered. It has now been more than a decade since former CEO Jeff Bezos promised to permeate U.S. skies with drones, but the e-commerce giant has made only a handful of deliveries.

Compared to Walmart, Amazon has a few strategic disadvantages, UP.Partners said. For example, as Walmart partners with leading drone manufacturers and providers such as Zipline, Wing, Flytrex, and DroneUp, Amazon has taken a vertically integrated approach.

And while Walmart has more than 4,600 stores located within 90 percent of the U.S. population, Amazon has around 100 active fulfillment centers. However, Prime Air recently announced an international expansion and a ramp-up of its service in Texas.

As drones take to the skies, eVTOL aircraft may be the next to emerge. According to the report, there is an 18,000-unit global backlog for eVTOL aircraft valued at $111 billion. United Airlines leads the way, with large commitments for air taxis from Archer Aviation and Embraer’s Eve Air Mobility.

EHang, a Chinese manufacturer, completed the world’s first commercial passenger-carrying eVTOL air taxi flight in December, more than a year before the first American firm expects to enter service. But the industry is crowded. Several manufacturers are neck-and-neck on SMG Consulting’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Reality Index, a monthly report that measures a company’s ability to type certify and mass produce AAM aircraft. The top dogs include EHang, Archer, Eve, Joby Aviation, Beta Technologies, and Boeing’s Wisk Aero.

Meanwhile, personal, single-seat eVTOL designs, such as the Pivotal Helix, and “flying cars” capable of driving on the freeway and taking off from the runway, such as the Jetson One, have already entered service.

Automated flight systems, such as those from Xwing, Reliable Robotics, and Merlin Labs, are also approaching certification. And soon, the industry may even introduce humanoid co-pilots.

The arrow is certainly pointing up for drones, eVTOL, and other emerging designs as they attract investments from private firms. But according to the report, the U.S. Department of Defense is the single largest customer of mobility technology. 

Through innovation arm AFWERX, the Air Force is working with a plethora of manufacturers to develop the next generation of aviation technology. Contracted firms include Archer, Beta, Pipistrel, Xwing, and Reliable.

During periods of conflict—a fair characterization of today’s state of play—U.S. military spending and venture capital investment in defense go up, according to data from PitchBook and the Office of Management and Budget. So, it’s possible that wars in Europe and the Middle East will accelerate these projects even further.

Battle for the Final Frontier

Private industry, government, and other stakeholders are coming together to address the issues facing the planet’s skies. But some are looking higher.

2023 was a banner year for commercial space activity. About 13,000 satellites are now in orbit, a number UP.Partners expects to rise to 50,000 in 2030. Satellite constellations, led by SpaceX’s Starlink, have increased tenfold over the past four years. And dollars spent on global space activity have tripled over the past decade, buoyed by growth in commercial ventures.

Orbital launch attempts, meanwhile, have spiked following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with the U.S. and China leading the way. At the same time, the cost to send a satellite to low-Earth orbit (LEO) has declined significantly.

For example, SpaceX claims Starhip—the largest and most powerful rocket ever built—will deliver payloads for about $45 per pound. The spacecraft has attempted two suborbital test flights, both of which resulted in the loss of its rocket and booster and spurred FAA mishap investigations.

Still, SpaceX far surpasses all other launch providers in terms of payload, the report said. If successful, its Starship human landing system (HLS)—which NASA will use to return humans to the moon through the Artemis program—would drastically reduce the cost of lunar payload delivery compared to the Apollo program, from $36 billion to $70 million per ton.

However, UP.Partners worries that the U.S. may fail to lead in the final frontier. Venture capital investment in space startups has risen almost 3,500 percent over the past decade. But most space special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have fared poorly. For almost all of them, stock price as a percentage of valuation has declined more than 50 percent.

The report also raised concerns around the Artemis program. NASA in December delayed the Artemis III moon mission from 2025 to 2026, in part due to the issues facing Starship. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk estimated each lunar landing will require eight Starship launches to perform cryogenic refilling in orbit. But the Government Accountability Office predicts it will be double.

Any delay to Artemis or other U.S. space initiatives could open the door for China. The Eastern superpower is quickly accelerating its commercial space program, with companies such as Space Pioneer and Deep Blue already landing reusable rockets. Blue Origin and Stoke Space are among the U.S. firms developing similar spacecraft.

A Moving World

The issues facing aviation are not insignificant, nor are they easy—or cheap—to solve. The industry will soon need to complement or supplement thousands of pilots, eliminate significant  quantities of carbon, and maintain aircraft performance and efficiency while doing it.

The good news is that pressure makes diamonds. While it may not be enough just yet, hundreds of startups are pouring billions of dollars into new airframes, fuels, and other technologies.

However, regulation will need to catch up with innovation. The FAA has finalized some early drone regulations, for example, but still needs to address flight beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight (BVLOS). AAM regulations, meanwhile, are still in a primitive state—only initial guidelines have been released.

For the U.S.—or any nation—to lead aviation into a greener, more efficient future, regulators will have just as large a role to play as the manufacturers themselves.

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This week, European firms announced two collaborations intended to herald the transition from traditional jet fuel to alternative sources, such as hydrogen.

The first, between industry titan Airbus and four Scandinavian firms, aims to study the feasibility of hydrogen infrastructure at airports in Norway and Sweden. The companies claim the study—which covers two countries and more than 50 airports—is the first of its kind.

“Hydrogen stands out as a key enabler as we pioneer a sustainable aviation future,” said Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus. “Norway and Sweden are among the most demanding regions for aviation and have great potential for hydrogen production from renewable energy sources.”

Faury added that the company intends to deploy hydrogen ecosystems in “most suitable parts of the world.”

Separately, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS), a U.K.-based hydrogen aircraft developer, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LoganAir, the U.K.’s largest regional airline, to fly hydrogen-electric aircraft between Scotland’s Orkney Islands by 2027. The partners believe the collaboration could deliver the world’s first commercial zero-emissions flights.

Airbus Forms a Hydrogen Herd

Airbus on Wednesday said it will work with Avinor and Swedavia, the flag carriers of Norway and Sweden, respectively, as well as Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), which serves the broader region. The companies will be joined by Vattenfall, a Swedish energy and power firm, which will support the partnership with electrical infrastructure and hydrogen production.

“We want to enable industry decarbonization,” said Anna Borg, president and CEO of Vattenfall. “Aviation is a hard-to-abate industry, where breaking away from fossil fuels is a huge challenge today. This cross-border collaboration however demonstrates the willingness to bring about change.”

According to Airport Carbon Accreditation, airport-controlled activities comprise around 2 to 3 percent of all aviation emissions. To reduce that figure, airports will need to move away from traditional aviation fuel and toward sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other renewable alternatives, such as hydrogen.

“If generated from renewable energy through electrolysis, hydrogen emits no CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions, thereby enabling renewable energy to potentially power large aircraft over long distances but without the undesirable by-product of CO2 emissions,” Airbus claims on its website.

Airbus and its partners will study hydrogen aircraft concepts and operations, infrastructure, and refueling at airports to develop a hydrogen ecosystem in Norway and Sweden. The study will also identify which airports are candidates for early transformations and which regulatory frameworks will need to be in place.

“Hydrogen is expected to gradually become an increasing part of the aviation industry’s fuel mix in the future and will therefore have an increasing effect on the infrastructure and planning of our airports,” said Jonas Abrahamsson, president and CEO of Swedavia. “This partnership is a major and important step towards fossil-free aviation in the Nordic region.”

Airbus sees potential for hydrogen to be combusted into fuel to power modified gas turbines or converted to electric power via fuel cells. It could even be used to create synthetic fuels, or e-fuels, which are generated exclusively using renewable sources.

The manufacturer’s goal is to bring a low-carbon commercial aircraft to market by 2035. In 2020, it launched ZEROe: a program to develop aircraft, systems, and an ecosystem for hydrogen aviation. All four aircraft concepts being developed under ZEROe—a turbofan, turboprop, blended-wing body, and fully electric model—are hydrogen powered and designed for 100 to 200 passengers. 

Last week, Airbus tested ZEROe’s “iron pod” hydrogen power system, a key milestone in the program’s progress. And in December, the EcoPulse demonstrator, a joint project between Airbus, Daher, and Safran, made its first hybrid-electric flight.

To build out an ecosystem, Airbus in 2020 introduced “Hydrogen Hub at Airports,” a program that initiated research into infrastructure requirements for low-carbon airport operations. The initiative brings together key industry players and includes airports, airlines, and other partners in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, and the U.K.

Electrifying the Islander

As Airbus and Co. collaborate on hydrogen infrastructure, CAeS and LoganAir are eyeing real-world flights.

LoganAir, which aims to be net-zero by 2040, hopes to fly the first operational hydrogen-electric Islander in the Orkney Islands by 2027, following certification in 2026. The Islander is one of the best-selling commercial airliners in Europe, used primarily for short-range commercial passenger service.

“The short-haul routes we operate in Orkney and the challenging weather conditions we face make the ideal test bed for hydrogen-electric aircraft, and we are incredibly proud that we could be offering the world’s first commercial zero-emissions flights,” said Peter Simpson, executive chairman of Loganair.

LoganAir is a longtime supporter of CAeS’ Project Fresson: an initiative, partially funded by the U.K. government, to develop hydrogen fuel cell propulsion systems for the more than 700 Islanders in operation, supported by Britten-Norman.

This week’s MOU, however, steps up the firms’ collaboration with additional operational requirements and design, standards and regulations, infrastructure development, and stakeholder engagement.

A proposed merger between CAeS and Britten-Norman, announced last year, would form a new company dedicated almost entirely to installing CAeS fuel cells on Islanders. But the firms have since put a pause on the deal.

“Collaborating closely with Loganair, we aim to harness our combined experience and expertise to address the operational and infrastructure considerations, ultimately ensuring the successful deployment of the hydrogen-electric Britten-Norman Islander across Loganair’s lifeline routes within the islands,” said Paul Hutton, CEO of Cranfield Aerospace.

Separately, CAeS is continuing to develop hydrogen fuel cells for a range of crewed and uncrewed aircraft, including cargo aircraft. In October, its fuel cell system order pipeline topped 1,300 with a letter of intent from cargo drone operator Dronamics.

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At the Monaco Hydrogen Forum on Monday, Israeli manufacturer HevenDrones unveiled two new hydrogen-powered drones designed for everything from defense to last-mile delivery. The company introduced the H2D200 series, which comprises two models: the H2D200 and H2D250.

Hydrogen fuel cells offer a greater range than lithium-ion batteries—which are present in many commercial drones—due to their light weight and high energy density. They also do not need to be frequently replaced, which keeps the small, buzzing aircraft in the sky longer and can lower long-term costs.

“We are at a pivotal moment in the drone industry,” said Bentzion Levinson, CEO of HevenDrones. “The H2D200 series represents not only a leap forward in drone technology but also a testament to our commitment to building a smarter ecosystem in the skies using the full power and potential of AI. With these hydrogen-powered drones, we are redefining the possibilities of what drones can achieve, while leveraging a clean and readily available fuel source.”

The smaller of the two new models, the H2D200, is built to carry payloads up to 10 pounds. HevenDrones says the drone’s range of about 275 nm and flight time of up to four hours set a “new standard for smaller payload drones.” It cruises on fixed wings at around 63 mph (55 knots) but is also capable of precision hovering.

The larger H2D250 offers the same cruise speed and hover capability, but it can carry up to 22 pounds. Its 466 sm (405 nm) range and operational time of up to eight hours make it ideal for “advanced logistics missions,” the company said—specifically those requiring multiple deliveries.

Both designs build on Heven’s hybrid-electric H100, which the company said now boasts superior lift capabilities. But they instead rely on hydrogen fuel cell technology developed in partnership with Plug Power. The two firms began collaborating in 2021, with plans to develop a hydrogen ecosystem comprising supply, infrastructure, fueling, and refueling for drone operations. 

The technology incorporates Plug Power’s ProGen-based hydrogen fuel cell stack, which was designed for long-range, heavy-lift drone applications.

Monday’s announcement follows Heven’s February release of the H2D55, its inaugural hydrogen-powered drone. The design has a flight time of 100 minutes and payload capacity of about 15 pounds. While less powerful than the new arrivals, the H2D55 delivers five times greater energy efficiency compared to battery-powered drones, Heven said.

All three hydrogen-powered models are designed to be “actionable,” meaning each can serve a variety of commercial and defense use cases. Last-mile delivery, construction, agriculture, real estate, emergency response, surveillance, and military resupply are just a few of those applications. The same H2D drone could be customized for a farmer to spray crops or a government to deliver medical aid to soldiers, for example.

Per the announcement of the H2D55, it and the new H2D200 drones are the only hydrogen-powered models Heven plans to release in 2023. But as the FAA and other aviation regulators steadily expand drone flight permissions, longer-range designs—such as those powered by hydrogen—will likely be in demand.

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ZeroAvia, a developer of hydrogen-electric propulsion systems, on Monday announced it completed a $116 million Series C funding round to support certification of its ZA600 engines and the scaling of its technology for larger aircraft.

The round was co-led by previously announced financiers Airbus, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, and NEOM Investment Fund, as well as the U.K. Infrastructure Bank (UKIB), which joined as a “cornerstone-level” investor. Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Horizons Ventures, Alaska Airlines, and several others were named as participants.

“This is a great example of the bank supporting a first-of-a-kind technology that has real potential to have a telling impact on carbon emissions and help position the U.K. at the forefront of a developing green hydrogen ecosystem,” said Ian Brown, head of banking and investments at UKIB.

According to ZeroAvia, the bank’s financing will promote the company’s growth plans in the U.K., where it has been predicted that one-quarter of carbon emissions will come from aviation by 2050.

“ZeroAvia has grown rapidly in the U.K. as we have worked to deliver two major historic milestones in aerospace engineering, as we look to preserve the benefits of flight through clean propulsion,” said Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia. “This backing by such a preeminent investor as [UKIB] will help us deliver the first commercial zero-emission flights and help the U.K. realize substantial export potential.”

UKIB, meanwhile, has the opportunity to become a market leader in the country’s quest to eliminate aviation emissions by the 2050 timeframe. Founded in 2021, the bank’s mandate is to back emerging technologies and crowd in private investment while driving regional growth and taking on climate change. It said a successful rollout of hydrogen engines in aviation could catalyze the development of wider hydrogen infrastructure.

“Aviation and hydrogen are sectors that need significant private investment to get to net zero,” said Brown. “By providing confidence to investors, our equity has helped to crowd in the private investment needed for the continued development of this cutting-edge technology and should help stimulate the development and deployment of hydrogen technology across other hard-to-decarbonise sectors.”

ZeroAvia’s latest funding comes three years after a series A investment led by Breakthrough Energy, the Climate Pledge Fund, and other participants in November’s round netted it $21.4 million. It followed that up last year with a Series B from Barclays, Neom, International Airlines Group, and American Airlines, bringing its total raised to $150 million.

The company is starting small: Its ZA600 engine, a 600-kilowatt, hybrid-electric powertrain, will be retrofitted on regional turboprops with nine to 19 seats and a range of 300 sm (260 nm) by the end of 2025. Two years later, the ZA2000, a 2-5 megawatt model, is expected to support aircraft with 40 to 80 seats and a 700 sm (608 nm) range.

So far, ZeroAvia has secured experimental certificates to test its engines with the FAA and the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) using three separate testbed aircraft.

The company has already hit several flight test milestones, most notably using a Dornier 228 equipped with one ZA600 engine and one conventional stock engine. Since completing its maiden voyage in January, the aircraft has gone through a range of tests, including flying at 5,000 feet, weathering a 23-minute endurance test, and operating in just-above-freezing temperatures.

ZeroAvia says it has a number of engineering partnerships with key aircraft OEMs, such as Cessna, Beechcraft, and de Havilland Canada. It claims to have nearly 2,000 preorders from major global airlines, including United Airlines, which in 2021 signed on as an investor and agreed to purchase up to 100 engines.

Simultaneously, the manufacturer is working on several projects. The most recent is a collaboration with Airbus to explore certification for hydrogen-powered systems. The partners also intend to examine liquid hydrogen fuel storage, fuel cell propulsion testing, and the development of hydrogen refueling infrastructure.

Another venture involves Textron, with which ZeroAvia will collaborate to install the ZA600 on a Cessna Grand Caravan turboprop. The company is also working with European airport operator AGS Airports to develop hydrogen fuel infrastructure and zero-emission routes, while a partnership with autonomous cargo aircraft developer Natilus will see it add its engines to the company’s Kona model.

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Piasecki announced it was awarded a multiyear, $37 million contract with AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force, through the division’s Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) program. The agreement will allow the Pennsylvania-based firm to test and demonstrate its Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES)—the same UAS project that was snubbed by DARPA.

In addition, the contract calls for Piasecki to demonstrate hydrogen fuel cell propulsion technology for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and other aviation applications, which it developed in collaboration with ZeroAvia. The company says its PA-890 eVTOL will be the first zero-emission, hydrogen-powered compound helicopter to market.

ARES was initially developed in partnership with Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, the manufacturer’s developmental aircraft unit, under DARPA. Piasecki took over after DARPA decided it was time to move on.

The system was designed with flexibility at the forefront. It can be flown crewed or uncrewed and is built to provide command, control, communications, computer, and intelligence (C4I), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and combat and logistics support to “small distributed forces,” Piasecki says.

That’s a mouthful. But essentially, the company believes ARES can be a Swiss Army knife for the military. The UAS’ small landing footprint enables docking with ships or touchdowns in complex terrain, and its payload modules can be reconfigured for a variety of different missions. The latter feature can reduce the cost and logistics footprint of operations, Piasecki says.

With the Air Force’s backing, the company is now working with Honeywell to integrate a triplex fly-by-wire system on ARES, with the goal of beginning flight testing this year.

“This new funding will allow us to demonstrate ARES’ unique tilt-duct configuration, which enables seamless transition between hover and fixed-wing forward flight—a technological leap that would address critical aerial challenges faced by the U.S. military,” said John Piasecki, CEO of Piasecki Aircraft.

Simultaneously, Piasecki Aircraft will continue working with partner ZeroAvia to install the latter’s High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (HTPEM) hydrogen fuel cell technology on the PA-890 and other VTOL aircraft. The slowed-rotor winged eVTOL helicopter design is expected to be the first compound helicopter that runs on hydrogen and produces zero emissions.

“Higher temperature fuel cells are a critical technology to delivering improvements in specific power and unlocking truly clean propulsion for larger fixed-wing aircraft, but they will also enable rotorcraft and VTOL applications,” said Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia.

Piasecki Aircraft says the PA-890 is designed for emergency medical services, on-demand logistics, personnel air transport, and other commercial use cases. In addition to producing zero emissions, the eVTOL will fly farther than all-electric rotorcraft and quieter than fossil fuel turbine helicopters—all while cutting direct operating costs in half compared to the latter, the company says.

“Demonstration of the PA-890 would be a world first for electric aviation and would usher in a new era of clean vertical flight,” said John Piasecki. “While R&D work on these projects began several years ago, this new funding will rapidly expand our ability to deliver these radically new vehicles to customers and partners across the military and commercial sectors.”

In May, Piasecki Aircraft acquired a manufacturing facility in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, formerly home to the Lockheed Martin Sikorsky Heliplex. It intends to convert the 219,000-square-foot site—which houses engineering, flight test and delivery, and assembly, paint, and finishing centers—into an advanced research, development and testing hub for VTOL and UAS aircraft. The company expects the facility to attract about 400 workers by 2028.

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According to the company, the test results indicate the new engine will have applications in  multiple markets in addition to aviation, such as commercial power applications, defense platforms, and zero-emission vehicles.

“Environmental responsibility is a foundational pillar of our company” said Christopher Ruud, CEO of DeltaHawk. “In the general aviation industry, our family of engines are creating a highly reduced net-carbon footprint coupled with airborne lead removal, thanks in large part to their fuel efficiency and capability to burn next-generation sustainable aviation fuels [SAFs]. Now with our planned ability to expand our engine family to include variants that will utilize hydrogen fuel in aviation, commercial, and military applications, we’ve taken another major step toward environmental sustainability, climate neutrality, and a zero-emissions future.”

• READ MORE: DeltaHawk Gains Type Certification on Jet-Fueled Piston Powerplant

About the Company

Since its founding in 1996, DeltaHawk said it has been striving to create a cleaner, more efficient, engine for the GA market. The company holds numerous patents for its clean-sheet engine designs.

According to the company, the use of proven internal combustion engine (ICE) technology with hydrogen fuel replaces more expensive, highly infrastructure-reliant fuel cell systems. That allows for a significantly reduced power degradation curve over time compared to current fuel cell technology, providing better fuel economy than fuel cells after the initial period.

DeltaHawk said its compact, lightweight, and durable design, based on patented two-stroke technology, makes this new engine family an ideal solution for hydrogen fuel. 

More information on the company website is available here.

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FLASH—which stands for Fuel Additives for Solid Hydrogen Carriers in Electric Aviation—is the DOE’s latest hydrogen-related initiative. The project will see the department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and aerospace and defense titan Honeywell collaborate on a prototype hydrogen fuel storage system for long-range drones.

But while most hydrogen fuel is stored as a gas or liquid, the partners are eyeing a mechanism to store solid hydrogen. The material could be quickly burned off to produce the element’s gaseous form, allowing uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) fuel cells to convert it to electric power.

The yearlong collaboration is expected to result in the development of a hydrogen fuel cartridge, which Honeywell could deploy on its application platforms. The company develops other solid-state cartridge systems for UAVs, but it’ll look to boost their performance through low-temperature, fast-release technology from FLASH.

Honeywell will provide technological expertise, fuel cartridge testing, supply chain support, and fuel cell prototyping and evaluation for the project. NREL in FLASH’s first phase “will provide technical expertise on FLASH formulations, fabrication, and characterization of the hydrogen fuel storage.”

The project’s ultimate goal is to mature new hydrogen carrier tech within the DOE Energy Materials Network’s Hydrogen Materials Advanced Research Consortium (HyMARC) project. HyMARC is focused specifically on providing clean, affordable hydrogen.

“This is a dream project for a national lab researcher,” said Steve Christensen, one of the NREL leads on the project proposal. “Honeywell has already built and tested devices that can use our materials, giving us the chance to drop our technology directly into their systems and move this promising drone fuel toward commercialization through collaborative research and development.”

Christensen added that the DOE hopes the technologies developed through FLASH “result in a market application.”

The initiative is funded by NREL, Honeywell, and the DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office through the Technology Commercialization Fund. The fund is strapped with $62 billion in allocations through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and supports a range of clean energy projects.

FLASH specifically is focused on developing a solid substance that could release hydrogen gas. NREL and Honeywell said the material has a high hydrogen capacity and can be operated at low temperatures. The idea is to provide a continuous supply of hydrogen that can be converted to electricity to enable low-noise, zero-emission, long-range flights.

“This class of materials is remarkably tunable and therefore highly versatile to industrial hydrogen delivery requirements,” said Noemi Leick, NREL’s principal investigator on the project.

The partners are looking to apply the tech on long-range and heavy payload UAVs in particular. These are mostly powered by internal combustion engines, which create more noise and emissions than electric propulsion. And when electric batteries are used, they can limit the drone’s range because they must be charged frequently.

Honeywell pointed out that hydrogen today is largely stored in bulky, compressed gas tanks, which are difficult to install on a compact drone. NREL added that the FLASH fuel storage system and a fuel cell could be bundled into a single, swappable cartridge—much like the electric battery cartridges many UAV operators are used to.

“Today’s long-range drones are typically powered by internal combustion engines,” said Katherine Hurst, NREL senior scientist and group manager. “While they provide the required range that battery-powered electric UAVs lack, these engines have issues with excessive noise, vibration, and emissions, including carbon emissions. This is an exciting opportunity to demonstrate the performance of hydrogen storage materials that we developed in our laboratory together with Honeywell to fuel a real-life flying vehicle.”

The partners pointed to atmospheric monitoring—which can be inhibited by the exhaust gases and rumbling engines of UAVs—as a potential new use case for FLASH technology. They also floated inspections of electric power lines, gas pipelines, solar panel farms, wind turbines, and other long-range applications as potential opportunities. In particular, long-range, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) missions could lower operating costs for service providers.

“Hydrogen can offer significant advantages for electric vertical take-off and landing [eVTOL] systems in terms of endurance and range,” said Dave Shilliday, vice president and general manager of urban air mobility and uncrewed aerial systems at Honeywell Aerospace. “Additionally, using hydrogen as a power source can also significantly expand the possibilities of UAVs beyond the limitations posed by battery-electric powertrains. Honeywell will work with NREL to develop the necessary hydrogen-related technology to contribute to the further growth of the industry.”

As things stand, the FLASH solution is projected to operate as a one-way fuel that must be recycled or refilled once spent. However, a project within NREL’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development program is exploring ways to recycle hydrogen fuel using electrochemical processes, which could one day allow UAVs to be powered by renewable energy.

If the project is deemed a success, FLASH “will be qualified for future technological development in optimization, scaling, and cost reduction,” NREL said. The laboratory also filed a nonprovisional patent application for FLASH tech, which laid the foundation to allow Honeywell Aerospace to continue developing it for commercial deployment.

It’s unclear whether Honeywell or NREL will explore hydrogen fuel storage systems for crewed electric aircraft as well. But it’s worth noting the former recently agreed to install flight control systems for electric aircraft maker Heart Aerospace and has partnerships with several manned eVTOL manufacturers—including Archer Aviation, Lilium, Vertical Aerospace, and Pipistrel—through its urban air mobility business.

NREL, meanwhile, just partnered with Joby Aviation to research the environmental impact of its air taxi, signaling potential interest in exploring hydrogen for crewed electric aircraft. The lab is also committed to researching hydrogen storage and fuel more generally, positioning it as a potential player as the aviation industry works to meet long-term sustainability goals.

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Joby subsidiary H2Fly on Thursday revealed it completed piloted flights of its four-seater HY4 demonstrator powered by liquid hydrogen, a milestone it says is the world’s first. The company made four takeoffs from an airfield in Maribor, Slovenia, using cryogenically stored liquid hydrogen to power a hydrogen-electric fuel cell system, which kept the aircraft in the sky for over three hours on one occasion.

Prior to this week’s tests, H2Fly had only flown with pressurized gaseous hydrogen. It said switching to the liquid form of the fuel source will double the HY4’s range from about 405 to 810 nm, a promising sign for a company that hopes to supply hydrogen-electric powertrains for zero-emissions medium- and long-haul commercial flights.

JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, has repeatedly touted the benefits of hydrogen, hinting at the company’s desire to explore it as a fuel source. The company has no stated plans to integrate hydrogen fuel cells on its air taxi, but Bevirt gave its subsidiary some praise.

“H2Fly are pioneers in their field, and we’re proud of them achieving this watershed moment in the use of liquid hydrogen to power aircraft,” he said in a statement. “In the years to come, battery-electric and hydrogen-electric propulsion systems will enable us to build aircraft that are quieter and make mid- to long-range air travel possible with zero emissions. It’s critical we take action now and invest aggressively in these technologies for the health of our planet and future generations to come.”

The flight test campaign marked the culmination of Project HEAVEN, a European government-backed consortium created to explore the use of cryogenic liquid hydrogen in aircraft. H2Fly led the project, which also included partner Air Liquide, Pipistrel Vertical Solutions, and the German Aerospace Center. The tests were also funded by a pair of German federal ministries and the University of Ulm.

“This achievement marks a watershed moment in the use of hydrogen to power aircraft,” said Professor Josef Kallo, co-founder of H2Fly. “Together with our partners, we have demonstrated the viability of liquid hydrogen to support medium and long-range emissions-free flight. We are now looking ahead to scaling up our technology for regional aircraft and other applications, beginning the critical mission of decarbonizing commercial aviation.”

Compared to the pressurized gaseous hydrogen H2Fly used prior to these flights, the cryogenically stored liquid form has a higher energy density, enabling a lower tank weight and volume. That boosts the range and payload of the aircraft. Hydrogen fuel cells also produce electricity without combustion or emission and do not need to be recharged so long as they’re fed a supply of hydrogen and oxygen.

“Today’s success demonstrates the full potential of liquid hydrogen for aviation,” said Pierre Crespi, innovation director at Air Liquide, which designed, manufactured, and integrated the liquid hydrogen tank that powered the HY4. “Liquid hydrogen can be stored onboard and transported. Hydrogen is key to the energy transition and this new step proves that it’s already becoming a reality.”

With HEAVEN flight testing complete, H2Fly says it is now focused on the path to commercialization. The company recently announced a new H2F-175 fuel cell system—capable of providing a full power range at altitudes up to 27,000 feet—which it hopes will prove there are real-world applications for the technology beyond low-altitude demonstrations.

H2Fly will also open a Hydrogen Aviation Center, co-funded by the Ministry of Transport Baden-Württemberg, at Stuttgart Airport (EDDS) next year. One day, the center may provide fuel cell aircraft integration facilities and liquid hydrogen infrastructure to large swaths of the European aviation industry.

The Promises and Pitfalls of Hydrogen

Incredibly, the HY4 made its maiden voyage over half a decade ago in 2016. In April 2022, it set what H2Fly believes to be the altitude record for a hydrogen-powered aircraft, cruising at over 7,200 feet. Around the same time, HY4 completed a cross-country flight from Stuttgart Airport to Friedrichshafen Airport (EDNY) 77 sm (67 nm) away, the first for a hydrogen-powered passenger airplane between two commercial airports.

A few months prior to this week’s piloted test, H2Fly and Air Liquide also conducted on-ground coupling tests of an aircraft-integrated liquid hydrogen storage system, which validated the Joby subsidiary’s ability to install its architecture.

Looking ahead, H2Fly hopes to add hydrogen-electric propulsion to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) CS-23 and CS-25 category aircraft. It has a partnership with Deutsche Aircraft to fly a 40-seat Dornier 328 demonstrator equipped with its fuel cell system in 2025.

But what will come of all this innovation?

H2Fly isn’t the only firm exploring hydrogen fuel systems; industry titan Airbus is also looking into applications for the technology, including a hydrogen-powered turbine engine. Another firm, ZeroAvia, is also in the mix, having recently flown the largest aircraft to be powered by a hydrogen engine, a 19-seat Dornier 228 demonstrator.

The firms have all been gripped by the allure of hydrogen, which is expected to greatly reduce emissions and help operators reach their ESG goals. It could also extend the range and payload of an aircraft, opening up new markets and use cases. But all that glitters is not gold, detractors say, poking a few holes in the hydrogen argument.

Some, like CleanTechnica’s Michael Barnard, worry the fuel source will be green but not cheap. As an example, he pointed to an effort by Air Liquide and others to establish a liquid hydrogen manufacturing facility for maritime shipping—that venture failed because of high production costs. Others point out that while hydrogen is environmentally friendly, its production often creates staggering emissions of its own, calling into question how “green” it truly is.

Liquid hydrogen in particular can also be difficult, costly, or even dangerous to transport. It requires specialized packaging to combat its high combustibility and may necessitate either an extensive logistics network or the construction of manufacturing sites near airfields. Neither option is ideal.

Further, there are some design and safety concerns around storing liquid hydrogen fuel near passengers. It needs to be kept in ball-shaped tanks that are as large as possible to prevent the liquid from boiling off, which creates challenges when designing an aircraft that also carries people.

Still, liquid hydrogen has the potential to curtail in-flight emissions (the ones that actually appear on company ESG reports) and, if the technology evolves as expected, open new business opportunities for operators. However, the industry will need to solidify the pipeline and limit hydrogen manufacturing costs and emissions before it becomes a viable alternative.

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