And the American “CNN” news network reported that the American-British company “ZeroAvia” had succeeded in testing its hydrogen-electric, two-engine aircraft.
The “Dornier 228” plane contains 19 seats, and it succeeded in flying for 10 minutes, Thursday, in British airspace.
Of course, No. 19 seats seem small compared to the hundreds of seats offered by conventional fuel-powered aircraft, but it is the largest aircraft of this type that relies on hydrogen-electric energy.
The new aircraft relies on dissolved hydrogen to fuel the fuel cells, a technology that practically ends the issue of emissions during flight.
Testing this aircraft appears to be part of the race to decarbonise the aviation industry, which accounts for about 2.5 percent of total global emissions.
However, the contribution of aviation to climate change is much greater, due to the presence of other gases, water vapor and jets that are emitted from aircraft.
Hydrogen is described as a promising solution for fueling aircraft, because its production of greenhouse gases when burned will be zero.
Unless hydrogen is produced through renewable energy, its production process will remain dependent on fossil fuels.
The new plane took off from Kotsoud Airport in western England, and flew in the air, reaching a speed of 223 kilometers per hour.
The company said in a statement that all systems on the plane worked as expected.
The first engine on which the plane was based was under the captive wing, running on hydrogen, and containing two sets of fuel cells.
The second engine under the right wing was conventional and did not depend on hydrogen, for safety reasons, however it was not used during the flight.
The aircraft was boosted with lithium-ion batteries to support the take-off process.
Hydrogen tanks and energy production cells were placed inside the aircraft cabin, from which the seats were removed, but this will not continue in the case of commercial flights, as it will be transferred to the outer surface of the aircraft, but “not at the present time,” the company says.
Half of the power came from the power cells and the other half from the battery packs, a company spokesperson confirmed at a press conference after the flight.
Thursday’s successful flight is part of a project backed by the British government to develop zero-emission aircraft that can accommodate 9-19 passengers and be able to travel 428 km.
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