Hydrogen power technology company Aviation H2 announced today that they have signed a deal with Bankstown-based FalconAir to co-operate on developing hydrogen power for turbofan engines.
FalconAir will provide Aviation H2 with hangar facilities and maintenance engineers, help them acquire the engines needed for conversion and deal with the regulators.
"This marks a monumental step towards developing a technology that will lead to the decarbonisation of the aviation industry, which contributes 2.5 per cent to global emissions,” says Aviation H2 Director Dr Helmut Mayer. “We now have a hangar, options for purchasing an aeroplane and a clear plan for how we want to build the plane.
“In the next 12 months, we intend to convert a jet engine for testing, then modify a Falcon 50 so it runs on green hydrogen. FalconAir has extensive experience in dealing with these aircraft and a global network of relationships, which will prove instrumental in purchasing both the aircraft and the test engine.
"Their team will also be able to provide assistance in maintenance engineering and guide us on accelerating the approval process from aviation authorities.”
FalconAir specialises in jet charter and corporate jet management right across the Asia Pacific region, operating a Dassault Falcon 900.
Aviation H2 recently announced they had chosen liquid ammonia combustion to produce hydrogen power and has started to raise capital via online platform VCEX.
They are aiming to make their first test flight in mid 2023.