UK firm ZeroAvia announced in late January that it had successfully made the maiden flight of its Dornier 228 hydrogen-electric test bed.
The aircraft was fitted with a full-size hydrogen-electric powertrain on the left wing, making it the largest aircraft ever to be flown using the new technology. The right wing was fitted with a stock Honeywell TP-331 turbo-prop engine.
The flight took place from the company’s R&D facility at Cotswold Airport and lasted 10 minutes. The flight forms part of the government-backed HyFlyer II project, a major R&D program, which targets development of a 600-kW powertrain to support 9-19 seat aircraft with zero-emission flight.
“This is a major moment, not just for ZeroAvia, but for the aviation industry as a whole, as it shows that true zero-emission commercial flight is only a few years away," said ZeroAvia founder and CEO Val Miftakhov.
"The first flight of our 19-seat aircraft shows just how scalable our technology is and highlights the rapid progress of zero-emission propulsion. This is only the beginning – we are building the future of sustainable, zero climate impact aviation. Our approach is the best solution to accelerate clean aviation at scale.
"Congratulations to everyone on our team and all of our partners and stakeholders for the collective effort that brought us to this monumental day in history.”
ZeroAvia will will conduct a series of test flights from Kemble and later demonstration flights from other airports, aiming to have the technology certified by 2025.