Hydrogen fuel cell propulsion for aviation is getting its start using automotive technology, but meeting the performance requirements of future commercial aircraft will require technology improvements across a broad range of components.
Since advanced air mobility initiatives took shape with the first Uber Elevate Summit, among the distinctions has been pressure for fast-paced development and certification, with promises of air taxis transporting Summer Olympics attendees as early as 2024 in Paris.
UK-based uncrewed aircraft system development house Blue Bear says it has developed a beyond-visual-line-of-sight communication bridge to link with air vehicles too small to carry a BVLOS communication system.
Automotive giant Volkswagen has joined the race to develop electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft, unveiling its passenger prototype July 29 with Volkswagen Group China.
Hybrid Air Vehicles has begun marketing a larger cousin of its in-development low-carbon Airlander 10 airship, and has set up a partner program with potential customers to help inform design and specification.
Zero-carbon flight-technology development often appears to be the preserve of two kinds of companies: large OEMs eyeing replacements for their fossil-fueled products and startups bringing in new ideas and funding.
Honeywell Aerospace’s plans to supply flight-control actuation and thermal-management technologies to Archer Aviation for its electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft.
Electric Power Systems plans to ship its first EPiC modular propulsion batteries to electric-aircraft developers this summer for testing in their system-integration laboratories.
Australia’s Rex Airlines has partnered with startup Dovetail Electric Aviation to convert turbine-powered aircraft to electric propulsion, initially targeting regional and general aviation aircraft.
Range is the mantra of hybrid-electric propulsion developers, and Ampaire has demonstrated the potential of combining electric and thermal power to overcome the limitations of batteries in an aircraft powertrain.
First flown in 1982 and still in production almost 40 years later, the Cessna Caravan is playing a key role in the introduction of advanced air mobility and alternative propulsion.
As startups advance zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion toward production by the mid-2020s for aircraft with up to 50 seats, a UK research program is indicating the technology’s potential to power regional airliners with 100 seats.
The U.S. Energy Department has awarded Raytheon two research and development projects to test hydrogen and ammonia as zero-carbon fuels for electricity generation.
The engine-maker says it has performed the world’s first test in simulated altitude conditions of a megawatt-class and multi-kilovolt hybrid-electric propulsion system.
