Munich-based manufacturer Vaeridion on Saturday opened its electric battery development lab at the Bosch Collaboration Campus in Holzkirchen, Germany. The site, located in the Munich suburbs, grants Vaeridion access to hardware and services from Bosch General Aviation Technology—the GA arm of the multinational engineering firm—and ITK Engineering, which Bosch acquired in 2016.

Vaeridion will use the campus to develop powertrains, battery models, and cybersecurity compliance for its digital systems, as well as test and integrate its proprietary high-voltage batteries for its flagship Microliner. The facility will run the gamut of battery manufacturing steps, from individual cells to fully integrated modules.

In addition to Vaeridion co-founders Ivor van Dartel and Sebastian Seemann, the opening of the center was attended by Bavarian State Government Minister Florian Herrmann and Holzkirchen Mayor Christoph Shmid.

“Bavaria is proud of its vibrant startup scene, which benefits from the excellent ecosystem of science, research and technology-passionate policies,” said Herrmann. “Sustainable e-mobility is a future topic with a global market—the development of a battery-powered microliner is therefore a brilliant idea.”

According to a 2018 study, more than 80 percent of Germany’s population lives within 20 kilometers of a regional airfield. Vaeridion’s flagship Microliner is designed to connect those sites and provide a new option for underserved regions, saving customers multiple hours per trip, the company claims. It can also take off and land at large commercial airports.

The aircraft’s glider-inspired wing features a high aspect ratio, minimizing drag in cruise and producing a high glide ratio. The batteries, which can be charged in about 45 minutes, are integrated there rather than in the fuselage to optimize the aircraft’s weight and travel distance, Vaeridion says. The manufacturer claims its design flies with the lowest energy consumption for an aircraft seating up to nine passengers plus crew for distances up to 500 km (310 miles).

Working with Aircraft Design Certification GmbH, which owns design organization approval (DOA) from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Vaeridion hopes to certify the model as a GA aircraft before 2030.

By that year, the manufacturer intends to introduce the Microliner on commercial routes in Denmark in partnership with Copenhagen AirTaxi and Copenhagen Helicopter, both based out of Roskilde Airport (EKRK) in Copenhagen. The companies believe the design will be part of a digital platform that allows customers to plan, book, and pay for flights in one place.

“The new green aircraft type requires significantly shorter takeoff and landing distances than traditional aircraft, which allows the use of smaller airfields that are no longer utilized for commercial routes,” said Martin Winther Andersen, CEO of Copenhagen Helicopter. “These routes were abandoned as aircraft types gradually became larger. The Microliner can change that, allowing us to create a dense network of domestic routes again.”

In addition, Belgium and Netherlands-based operator ASL Group plans to utilize the aircraft for short-haul business routes. Aero-Dienst, the operation and maintenance provider for European automobile association ADAC’s fleet of ambulance helicopters, intends to deploy it for aircraft maintenance and air ambulance services.

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The Dash 8, a 40-passenger regional airliner, nicknamed ‘‘Lightning McClean,’’ took off from Grant County International Airport (KMWH) and flew for 15 minutes, reaching an altitude of 3,500 feet MSL, the company said. The flight, which was conducted under a special airworthiness certificate from the FAA, marks the first time such a large aircraft has flown under fuel-cell power, Universal Hydrogen said.

For the test flight, the airplane flew with Universal Hydrogen’s fuel cell-electric powertrain mounted in a nacelle on one wing with the airplane’s usual turbine engine on the other wing, mainly for safety, Universal said.

• READ MORE: FAA Grants Universal Hydrogen Approval To Test Fuel-Cell-Powered Aircraft

“During the second circuit over the airport, we were comfortable with the performance of the hydrogen powertrain, so we were able to throttle back the fossil fuel turbine engine to demonstrate cruise principally on hydrogen power,” said Alex Kroll, a former U.S. Air Force test pilot and now the company’s chief test pilot. “The airplane handled beautifully, and the noise and vibrations from the fuel-cell powertrain are significantly lower than from the conventional turbine engine,” he said.

Representatives from Connect Airlines and Amelia, which are the U.S. and European launch customers for the hydrogen-powered aircraft, witnessed the test flight, Universal said, adding that it expects to have ATR 72 regional airliners converted to run on hydrogen and entering passenger service in 2025. The company also said it has taken orders totaling 247 aircraft conversions from 16 customers worldwide, totaling more than $1 billion in backlog and more than $2 billion in fuel services during the first ten years of operation.

“Today will go down in the history books as the true start to the decarbonization of the global airline industry and we at Connect Airlines are extremely proud of the role that we, as the first US operator, will play in leading the way with Universal Hydrogen,” said John Thomas, CEO of Connect Airlines. Connect placed an order with Universal to convert 75 ATR 72-600s to hydrogen powertrains with purchase rights for 25 additional conversions.

“With this technology, and the improvement of government positive regulations I am confident that we can turn the tide of public sentiment and once again make aviation a shining beacon of technological optimism,” added Alain Regourd, president of Amelia.

Reducing Broad-Scale Emissions

The company, backed by GE Aviation, Airbus Ventures, Toyota Ventures, JetBlue Ventures, and American Airlines said it plans to move from regional aircraft to larger models.

“More than half of aviation CO2 emissions today come from the A320 and 737 [families] of aircraft,” said Paul Eremenko, co-founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen. “Both Airbus and Boeing will need to replace these venerable airplanes with a new design starting development in the late-2020s and entering passenger service in the mid-2030s. Making their successors hydrogen airplanes is a golden opportunity—perhaps the only opportunity—for aviation to get anywhere near meeting Paris Agreement emissions targets without having to curb aviation traffic volumes.”

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