Zero-emission solutions company for commercial aviation ZeroAvia yesterday announced the signing of a partnership agreement with Shell and Rotterdam The Hague Airport. The parties will work together in order to develop a hydrogen-powered concept of operations.
As reported by ZeroAvia in a press release, they aim to carry out the first demonstration flights by the end of 2024. The first commercial passenger flights could then take place in 2025.
The new cooperation commitment will focus on enabling the first commercial hydrogen-powered air operation from Rotterdam (RTM), Netherlands’ third largest airport in terms of passenger traffic. Work will include the development of infrastructure and field procedures to enable the efficient storage and dispensing of this alternative fuel.
Ultimately, the project aims to support aircraft operations using gaseous hydrogen to power the ZA600 hybrid-electric engines developed by ZeroAvia. To this end, the parties will establish demonstration routes to other European airports located no more than 250 nautical miles (463 kilometres) away from Rotterdam.
ZeroAvia is currently working on the development of hydrogen-electric propulsion systems for regional passenger aircraft. One of these is the 600-kilowatt ZA600 power plant, designed to propel aircraft with a capacity of between five and twenty passengers. The solution runs on stored hydrogen gas, which powers fuel cells. These, in turn, convert the hydrogen into electricity and thus generate power.
An ecosystem of hydrogen-powered operations
The project will also see the development of specific standards and procedures for refuelling and other tasks related to hydrogen management at airports. In addition, the parties will engage in discussions with operators potentially interested in adapting hydrogen fuel.
“Shell brings critical experiences and technical capabilities to the project”, ZeroAvia explained. “This is expertise related to hydrogen end-to-end supply chains and global experiences in design and operation of refueling equipment, including hydrogen”, the company added.
ZeroAvia recently partnered with the Dutch hydrocarbon company to advance the supply of low-carbon hydrogen for some of its testing and initial commercial operations in California, United States.
“Some first passengers on zero-emission flights in the world could be flying from Rotterdam”, said Arnab Chatterjee, ZeroAvia’s VP of Infrastructure. “There is still a lot of work to do, but with clear milestones and targets identified, the hard work really starts now towards delivering the infrastructure and exploring the protocols and standards required”, he added.
See also: ZeroAvia and AGS Airports partner to enable zero-emission flights in Scotland
