In addition to pure battery aircraft, hydrogen-fueled engines are also attracting attention in the aviation industry. After all, hydrogen is converted into water vapor after combustion, and there is no emission. However, there are also many ways to use hydrogen fuel engines, such as burning hydrogen directly in the injection engine, or using fuel cells to convert electricity to drive motors, and so on. A company called Universal Hydrogen made a breakthrough in the latter technology,15-minute test flight in a modified 40-seat Dash-8 propeller airliner。
The Dash-8 uses Plug Power’s fuel cells and electric motors made by magniX. It claims to be the largest device of its kind to lift off, and is loaded with 30 kilograms of liquid hydrogen and multiple sensors. However, among the two engines of the Dash-8, only the right engine has been modified to use hydrogen, and the left still uses the traditional turboprop engine produced by Pratt & Whitney, “for safety.” During the take-off process, Dash-8 relied more on the output of the turboprop engine, but on the second lap, it was able to cruise almost entirely on the output of the hydrogen fuel cell engine. The test flight reached an altitude of just over 1,000 meters.
Test flight pilot Alex Kroll said the aircraft handled well, and the hydrogen fuel cell engine produced less noise and vibration than conventional engines.
Just earlier this year, another 19-passenger Dornier 228 converted by ZeroAvia alsoSuccessfully completed a ten-minute flight on a hydrogen fuel cell, but this time Universal Hydrogen not only has a bigger plane, but also takes a little longer. In addition, Airbus intends to build a passenger plane with a range of 1,850 kilometers and can carry 100 people, and Rolls-Royce has recently completed testing of a hydrogen-fueled jet engine.
Hydrogen still has many problems to be solved, especially its energy density is only about 1/4 of that of ordinary jet fuel, so the range will be limited. Of course, the preparation, transportation and storage infrastructure of hydrogen itself still need to be solved. However, Universal Hydrogen is confident that it can solve the “chicken and egg” problem between hydrogen infrastructure and hydrogen-fueled aircraft, and hopes to launch a modified ATR 72 short-range passenger aircraft in 2025 and start commercial transfer.