ZeroAvia announced today that the UK has awarded the company and its consortium partners an unspecified grant toward its $14.5 million project to develop a viable liquid hydrogen management system. Production and storage are two of the primary obstacles in developing hydrogen power for transportation.
ZeroAvia’s Liquid Hydrogen System Integration & Flight Test (LH-SIFT) project “is comprised of a novel lightweight metallic tank design and supporting systems for filling and managing storage and distribution. Consortium partners Green Resource Engineering and Gas & Liquid Controls will collaborate with ZeroAvia on fill, feed, vent, and vaporizer systems,” ZeroAvia announced.
The ZeroAvia project is anticipated to culminate in integrating its lightweight propulsion system with a Dornier 228 airframe. A series of flight tests is planned to follow. The Do 228 was previously powered by a pair of Garrett TPE-331 turboprop engines.
ZeroAvia’s alternative is its 600kW hydrogen-electric powertrain for the 10- to 20-seat regional aircraft design. The company is currently “advancing certification” of the powertrain. It also plans to develop a new generation of fuel-cell engines with its ZA2000 model designed for larger, 40- to 80-seat aircraft.
But, according to James McMicking, chief strategy officer for ZeroAvia, “Liquid hydrogen is needed to achieve the volumetric and gravimetric energy density required by larger zero-emission aircraft that no other solution offers. This project will drive further evolution of liquid hydrogen technology and provide the capability to test and validate these in-flight and through refueling operations. It will help to unlock investment from the wider aerospace ecosystem that can scale zero-emission aircraft technology and the supporting hydrogen airport infrastructure.” A large part of the challenge of implementing hydrogen fuel cells is the infrastructure to store and dispense the fuel. Developing that “viable liquid hydrogen management system” through LH-SIFT is key to the future of the technology.
