Hydrogen-powered aircraft completes first flight and is voted Breakthrough Technology of 2023
The test flight of the partially hydrogen-powered aircraft sets an example for the future of zero-emission flying. The flight was voted the breakthrough technology of 2023 in a survey by MIT Technology Review: The 19-seat aircraft, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, recently completed a 10-minute test flight. This milestone on the way to low-carbon aviation marks the longest hydrogen fuel cell powered flight.
ZeroAvia, the startup behind it, has received significant investment totalling around USD $140 million from industry giants and investors such as Bill Gates' Energy Venture Fund. The company plans to bring its technology to market by 2025, but has already received more than 1,500 pre-orders for its hydrogen fuel cell systems.
This is putting us straight on the path to commercial launches.
- Val Miftakhov, ZeroAvia founder and CEO, in a press conference
The aircraft took off from Cotswold Airport in the UK, with the left side of the aircraft powered by a combination of hydrogen fuel cells and batteries, and the right side using conventional paraffin.
Challenges of zero emission aviation
The aviation industry is responsible for around 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing these is a high priority. Hydrogen fuel cells are seen as a possible approach to reducing emissions in this sector, although there are still technological challenges to overcome before they can be scaled up to larger aircraft.
Despite the successful test flight and planned commercialisation, there are still significant hurdles to overcome before greener flying becomes a reality. Scaling hydrogen fuel cells to larger aircraft is difficult because they are heavy and hydrogen takes up a lot of space:
This is a wonderful first step, but of course it’s only the first step.
- Andreas Schafer, director of the Air Transportation Systems Lab at University College London
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