A 19-seat hydrogen-powered plane took to skies above Gloucestershire yesterday afternoon, in what has been dubbed a “giant step forward” for the decarbonisation of flight.
The flight may have only lasted 10 minutes, but it was enough for zero emission plane manufacturer ZeroAvia to hail the Dornier 228 testbed aircraft as the largest aircraft in the world to have been successfully powered by a hydrogen-electric engine.
The two-engine plane, which has been retrofitted with a full-size prototype hydrogen-electric powertrain on its left wing, successfully took off and landed at the company’s research and development (R&D) facility at Cotswold Airport.
The flight is part of the ZeroAvia’s HyFlyer II research and development programme, which is aiming to develop a 600kW hydrogen-electric powertrain that can support a nine to 19 seat aircraft.
“This is a major moment, not just for…
‘Major moment’: 19-seat plane partially powered by hydrogen fuel cells takes to the skies
