The largest hydrogen plane to date has completed its first test flight. The flight was initiated by the start-up Universal Hydrogen and lasted fifteen minutes. This modified Dash-8 offers space for forty passengers.
For the flight, one of the two turbine engines has been replaced by a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. The other, regular fossil engine was still used ‘to be on the safe side’, already says Universal Hydrogen that its use has been reduced during the second round of flight. The CEO of the startup claims that only green hydrogen is used. The 15-minute flight took place in Washington and the Dash-8 managed to reach an altitude of 3500 MSL.
No battery is used for the hydrogen powertrain, instead the fuel cells powered the Magni650 electric motor directly. According to Universal Hydrogen, this reduces cost and weight. In addition to being more sustainable, the start-up also claims that a hydrogen powertrain produces much less noise and vibration than a conventional turbine engine.
Universal Hydrogen plans to deliver the first fuel cell conversion kits to customers in 2025. The first customer will be US airline Connect Airlines, which has placed orders to convert 75 ATR 72-600 aircraft. These aircraft can accommodate 78 passengers.
The previous record for the largest flying hydrogen plane was held by ZeroAvia, which completed a ten-minute flight in December in a 19-seater. This aircraft also flew only partly on hydrogen. ZeroAvia plans to fly commercial routes in 2025 and aims to fly a hydrogen plane with 40 to 80 passengers in 2027.
