H2Fly achieves first piloted flight powered by liquid hydrogen

Zero-emission commercial flights are one step closer thanks to a new record for hydrogen-powered planes. The German company H2Fly has just announced that it has successfully completed the first test flights of its HY4 aircraft usinghydrogenhydrogen in the state liquidliquid rather than gaseous. This is the first time that a piloted aircraft has been powered entirely by liquid hydrogen.

The HY4 is an airplane demonstratordemonstrator electric powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The aircraft successfully completed four test flights, including one that lasted more than three hours. The transition from gaseous hydrogen to liquid hydrogen is based on a cryogenic storage system, and has made it possible to double the autonomy of the device, which goes from 750 kilometers to 1,500 kilometers.

Towards the start of marketing

« This advance marks a turning point in the use of hydrogen to power aircraft. Together with our partners, we have demonstrated the viability of liquid hydrogen for emissions-free medium and long-distance flights », indicated the manufacturer in his press release. According to him, the transition to cryogenic storage of liquid hydrogen makes it possible to significantly reduce the size and weight of the tank, significantly increasing the range and payload.

This aircraft is part of the Heaven project, a European program to demonstrate the feasibility of aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel cells combined with cryogenic solutions. It is led by H2Fly, with partners AirAir Liquid, Pipistrel Vertical Solutions, the German Aerospace Research Center (DLRDLR), EKPO FuelFuel Cell Technologies and Fundación Ayesa. The company now plans to launch into the commercialization of its technologies, including a new H2F-175 fuel cell system to power flights that can reach an altitude of more than 8,000 meters. In 2024, it plans to open a hydrogen aviation center at Stuttgart Airport.

New altitude record for a hydrogen plane

By exceeding an altitude of 7,000 feet, the company H2FLY has just established a new world record with its hydrogen plane. It is also the first hydrogen fuel cell aircraft to fly between two commercial airports.

Article d’Edward BackEdward Backpublished on 04/22/2022

7,230 feet (2,204 meters)! This is the new altitude record for a hydrogen plane. This feat was achieved on April 13 by the German manufacturer H2FLY and its HY4 four-seater aircraft. The aircraft also set a second record, that of the first flight of a hydrogen plane between two commercial airports. On April 12, the HY4 traveled 124 kilometers between Stuttgart and Friedrichshafen airports.

H2FLY has been working on hydrogen systems since 2015, and its HY4 aircraft first flew in 2016. The aircraft features a hydrogen system hybridhybrid, with an 80 kilowatt electric motor powered by a fuel cell. The latter uses hydrogen maintained at a pressionpression of 5,800 PSI (400 barsbars) and distributed in two tanks.

A 40-seat hydrogen plane within a few years

The aircraft is also equipped with batteries lithium-ionbatteries lithium-ion which provide additional power during consumption peaks, and in particular during takeoff. The HY4 has a vitessevitesse cruising speed of 145 km/h with a range that can reach 1,500 kilometers with a minimum charge and optimal conditions.

With this new record, the company wants to start “ the era of zero-emission and sustainable air travel “. Based on the performance of its HY4, H2FLY plans to equip a 40-seat Dornier 328 aircraft with a hydrogen enginehydrogen engine no later than 2025. A few years from now », the manufacturer hopes to be able to transport 40 passengers over a distance of up to 2,000 kilometers.

The HY4, an amazing hydrogen-powered electric plane, has taken flight

Powered by a fuel cell, the HY4 electric plane, developed by German researchers, has a range of more than 750 km. This four-seater, with its strange appearance, made its first flight. The objective is to design a “zero-emission” 19-seat regional transport aircraft. Behind this project: Airbus, SiemensSiemens and 20 universities…

Article from Jean-Luc GoudetJean-Luc Goudetpublished on 06/10/2016

A strange machine took off on September 29, 2016 from Stuttgart airport. This device with two fuselagesfuselages looks like two planes which, like brothers SiameseSiamese, would be connected together by a common wing, carrying an engine and a propeller. The HY4 makes little noise: the 80 kW engine is electric. During takeoff, a phase where consumption is high, a lithium-ion battery provides the electricity. But in flight, a fuel cell, drawing hydrogen from a tank maintained at low temperature, produces a Electric powerElectric power by reaction with oxygen in the air and releases water vapor. Results announced but to be validated: 145 km/h cruising, 200 km/h peak and a range of 750 to 1,000 km.

Of course, the electric plane is not new. Many manufacturers, small and large, have been trying it for years and we no longer present the Solar Impulse expedition which completed a world tour thanks to theenergyenergy solar. Using a fuel cell to provide electricity to a aéronefaéronef is not new either. In 2007, we presented the SmartFish, a scale model that became “HyFish” once equipped with an electric motor and a fuel cell. The transformation had already taken place in Stuttgart, in the DLR workshops, German Aerospace Centeran aeronautical research institute.

The hydrogen-powered electric plane, the focus of a major research program

The German engineers persisted. Researchers from the University of Ulm got involved and the DLR embarked on a vast research program on electric aviation, with Airbus and Siemens as industrial partners and scientific support from 20 universities and research centersassociation Helmotz. The HY4 is based on a commercial electric plane, the Taurus Electro from the Czech company Pipistrel. This Taurus is in fact a “motor glider”, that is to say a gliderglider, with a large wingspan of 14.97 m and a low-power engine (30 kW at cruise, in this case). The team of H2Flywhich is leading this project, brought together two Taurus, to carry the engine, the fuel cell and the battery, achieving a massemasse total of 1,500 kgkg. The process is ingenious and avoided building an airplane from A to Z, as the team from Solar ImpulseSolar Impulse.

The result is a four-seater, which is exceptional for an electric plane. The final objective, however, is not to offer a recreational motor glider. Airbus and Siemens have been working on the subject of electric aviation for several years. Airbus, for example, produced the E-Fan prototype, presented at the last Paris Air Show, is studying the fuel cell for its A320 Neo and claims to still be working on the project for a low-capacity transport aircraft. DLR says the same thing in its communiquéestimating that electric motorization would be suitable for small taxi planes for short distances, on a regional scale, up to « 19 places ». It will then remain to find the means to produce large quantities of hydrogen, if possible other than with power plants. fossil fuelsfossil fuels. These planes would then truly be “zero emissions”.