ZeroAvia stretches its wings with TWO accolades

Fume-free flight pioneer ZeroAvia has won a prestigious aerospace industry award in a move that slipstreams an historic accolade from TIME magazine.  And stage left, it looks likely that Dale Vince’s Ecojet project is firming up a financial plan for lift off to become the world’s first zero-emissions carrier – all made possible by ZeroAvia’s technology[1].

The Kemble-based aviation industry disruptor, whose HQ is in the US state of Washington, has just been handed the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Project of the Year for 2024 for its HyFlyer II project, which has successfully delivered the revolutionary first flight of a 19-seat aircraft using hydrogen-electric power. The project gave the team a crucial advance as it now meant its first engine passed the threshold for formal certification application, while the ATI’s award celebrates projects funded by the ATI that have either reached a significant milestone or concluded within the last year.

Gabriele Teofili, Managing Director, ZeroAvia, said: “This award provides a great opportunity for our team to pull their heads up for a little moment from the hard work we are doing on certification and reflect on an historic achievement.”

He added that the hard work continued towards certification and advancing the core technologies to support larger platforms and he also thanked the ATI, the Department for Business and Trade and Innovate UK for their support. Since ZeroAvia showcased the first flight of a retrofitted 19-seater twin-engine Do228 hydrogen-electric testbed at Kemble in January 2023, the HyFlyer II programme, which ran from December 2020 to November last year, has created hundreds of jobs, large inward investment and world-first breakthroughs. A spokesperson said Kemble’s flight testing and system development as part of HyFlyer II “has been critical in designing and testing fuel cell and electrical-propulsion systems, establishing greater confidence in the potential for zero-emission flights this decade and leading to what could be the world’s first certified hydrogen-electric engine for commercial aircraft”.

ZeroAvia has already submitted its application to certify the ZA600, 600kW hydrogen-electric powertrain for up to 20 seat aircraft to the CAA. Gary Elliott, Chief Executive of the ATI, said: “With the project of the year, we are looking for projects that have challenged conventional wisdom, taken risks and provided valuable lessons to support our journey towards net zero. I would like to congratulate ZeroAvia for an exceptional project and to wish the business continued success and growth in the UK.”

As part of the HyFlyer II project, ZeroAvia collaborated with two partners, the European Marine Energy Centre and Aeristech.

The ATI Programme is delivered in partnership with the Department for Business and Trade and Innovate UK, and in partnership with industry. The project also involved the development of novel high-temperature proton exchange membrane (HTPEM) fuel cells for aviation, exhibiting technology readiness for scaling hydrogen-electric technology for large aircraft. ZeroAvia believes HTPEM is key to developing zero-emission propulsion systems for aircraft larger than 20-seats, with the technology being integral to the company’s ZA2000 2-5.4 MW engine for 40-80 seat planes.

Meanwhile, revered New York news magazine TIME has placed ZeroAvia in its latest list for the world’s best 200 inventions, with the ZA600 hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrain joining the ranks of humanity’s best ideas in action.

To build the list, TIME solicited nominations from editors and correspondents around the world paying special attention to health care, AI and green energy. Gloucestershire also features in the headlines on world progress towards emissions-free flight after Ecotricity founder and green energy entrepreneur Dale Vince announced a GBP20m financing plan for his Ecojet airline, which aims to be the world’s first zero-emissions commercial carrier. Yesterday, Sky News reported that Ecojet is working with corporate finance advisers Wyvern Partners on a growth equity plan, with fundraising aimed at satisfying capital requirements set by the CAA as a condition on granting an Aircraft Operator Certificate.

?

Hydrogen-electric engines use hydrogen in fuel cells to generate electricity, which is then used to power electric motors to turn the aircraft’s propellers – the only emission is water.

References

1. ^ all made possible by ZeroAvia’s technology (www.punchline-gloucester.com)