Author: Ammira Shaheena

@Paris Airshow — June 22, 2023: ZeroAvia today announced that it has signed an agreement to provide 250 hydrogen-electric ZA2000 engines to Flyshare, Inc., which will be operating under the name of Air Cahana and pioneering disruptive sustainable regional air service in California and the West Coast of the United States.

Los Angeles-based Air Cahana is the first airline launched solely with a mission to decarbonize aviation. Air Cahana will deliver sustainable flight, beginning with Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), and then adopt zero emission propulsion technology as the technology enters the market. The company is targeting operations of turboprops using ZeroAvia’s zero-emission propulsion systems, in order to play its part in delivering a third golden era of aviation powered by clean flight.

ZeroAvia’s novel powertrain uses hydrogen fuel in fuel cells to generate electricity and thus power electric motors to fly the aircraft with effectively zero-emissions.

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The partners will now collaborate on identifying the roll-out for hydrogen-electric aircraft, enhancing the prospects of zero-emission commercial flights between metropolitan areas on the West Coast of the U.S. and beyond within the next five years.

France has recently enacted a ban on short haul domestic flights between cities that are linked by a train journey of less than 2.5 hours. ZeroAvia’s first hydrogen-electric product is a 600kW engine for 9–19 seat aircraft and targets market entry by 2025 with a 300 nautical mile range. This means trips within France and from France to other near countries would be possible, as well as moving existing flights to zero-emission, including some public service obligation (PSO) routes.

For smaller regional operators, zero-emission flight can be a big growth opportunity as well as a solution for emissions impact. ZeroAvia predicts a steep reduction in operating costs thanks to the reduction in maintenance required and lower fuel costs as green hydrogen production matures. A report by NASA suggests that reductions in operating cost of around 40% can lead to a “huge expansion” of demand for regional flight.

@Paris Airshow — June 21, 2023: ZeroAvia today announced that it has signed an agreement with French renting company Green Aerolease to provide ZA600 hydrogen-electric engines. Green Aerolease plans to deploy the powertrains in its lessor fleet, as an example with French airline Finistair which will look to deploy them to power its own zero-emission routes, in particular from Brittany, including Brest Bretagne Airport.

France has recently enacted a ban on short haul domestic flights between cities that are linked by a train journey of less than 2.5 hours. ZeroAvia’s first hydrogen-electric product is a 600kW engine for 9–19 seat aircraft and targets market entry by 2025 with a 300 nautical mile range. This means trips within France and from France to other near countries would be possible, as well as moving existing flights to zero-emission, including some public service obligation (PSO) routes.

For smaller regional operators, zero-emission flight can be a big growth opportunity as well as a solution for emissions impact. ZeroAvia predicts a steep reduction in operating costs thanks to the reduction in maintenance required and lower fuel costs as green hydrogen production matures. A report by NASA suggests that reductions in operating cost of around 40% can lead to a “huge expansion” of demand for regional flight.

@Paris Airshow — June 20, 2023: ZeroAvia today announced that it has cemented its agreement with MONTE Aircraft Leasing (MONTE), converting its existing MOU for up to 100 engines to a definitive Purchase Agreement.

For ZeroAvia, this deal represents an important commercial milestone, with the first ZA600 build slots being secured by MONTE. As ZeroAvia begins to plan for its production facilities, a good proportion of initial manufacturing capacity is now under commitment.

MONTE is now well positioned to seize significant market share in zero-emissions regional turboprop aircraft leasing. MONTE and ZeroAvia aim to retrofit 9–19 seat aircraft with ZA600 powertrains for airline operators starting in 2025, while also providing financing, infrastructure, maintenance and hydrogen availability services to support these operations.

ZeroAvia is working to certify ZA600, a 600kW powertrain designed to support 9–19 seat aircraft, with the Cessna Grand Caravan planned as the launch airframe. With the first phase of prototype flight testing almost complete, the company is on track to meet its 2025 certification timeline.

@Paris Airshow — June 19, 2023: ZeroAvia today announced that it has identified clear applications for hydrogen-electric, zero-emission propulsion for regional jet aircraft.

As part of the initial technical study conducted alongside Type Certificate holder MHIRJ over the last year, an initial entry-point for a CRJ 700 retrofit with ZeroAvia’s ZA 2000RJ powertrain — confirming maximum takeoff weight, centre of gravity and structural allowances — has been identified. The study also validates the retrofit approach for other in-service CRJ series aircraft, such as the CRJ 550 and 900.

The hydrogen-electric CRJ aircraft would be equipped with two ZeroAvia regional jet engines (derivatives of the ZA2000 engine class) to match the existing performance and ZeroAvia analysis suggests it could support up to 60 passengers with a range of up to 560 nautical miles, covering in excess of 80 percent of current flights.

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The study identified good opportunities for onboard hydrogen fuel storage and powertrain integration to ensure preservation of aircraft aerodynamics. Critically, the system would drastically reduce operating costs by virtue of hydrogen fuel use and reduced maintenance costs, creating opportunities for new routes, as well as more flights on existing routes to match or increase passenger volumes.

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The technical assessment identified that the loss of turbine core thrust could be overcome within the constraints of the original airframe with increased fan diameter, while further efficiency gains were possible by adopting novel propulsor technologies such as geared, ducted electric fan or open rotor designs.

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The assumptions based on the phase 1 study included HTPEM fuel cell system specific power of 2.4 kW/kg. ZeroAvia has already demonstrated 2.5 kW/kg at the cell level of its HTPEM stacks, and plans to deliver 3 kW/kg system level specific within two years. Such an achievement would boost the operating characteristics of the envisaged hydrogen-electric CRJ.

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The CRJ is already the world’s most successful family of regional aircraft. There are more than 1,400 CRJ Series aircraft that could potentially be converted to fly with the ZA2000 engine.

Kemble, UK & Hollister, CA (ZeroAvia) and Toronto, Canada (De Havilland Canada), December 14, 2021 

ZeroAvia, the leading innovator in zero-emission aviation powertrains, and De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (“De Havilland Canada”) today announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop a line-fit and retrofit program for De Havilland Canada’s aircraft models, using hydrogen-electric propulsion in both new and in-service aircraft.

As part of the MOU, De Havilland Canada will be issued options to purchase 50 ZeroAvia hydrogen-electric engines. These options will be confirmed once a definitive agreement has been completed between De Havilland Canada and ZeroAvia.

The companies intend to work together on a service bulletin for the Dash 8-400 type certificate offering ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engine as a line-fit option for new aircraft, as well as developing an OEM-approved retrofit program for in-service aircraft. This program will target the use of ZeroAvia’s 2MW+ powertrain (ZA2000) for Dash 8-400 aircraft. The Dash 8-400 is one of the world’s most reliable turboprop aircraft with more than 625 delivered to customers. The global fleet of Dash 8-400 aircraft has logged over 11 million flight hours and transported more than 550 million passengers.

As part of the program, ZeroAvia will develop a flight demonstrator, with De Havilland Canada’s support, using a Dash 8-400 aircraft to aid certification and showcase the operational and commercial potential of the engine. The intention is to identify a suitable existing route utilising the aircraft and aim for entry into service within the next five years. ZeroAvia and De Havilland Canada intend to jointly market aircraft powered by the hydrogen-electric engines to operators with power-by-the-hour (PBH) support.

In October, ZeroAvia announced a development collaboration with Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, for a hydrogen-electric powertrain capable of flying 76-seat regional aircraft in excess of 500 nautical miles, starting with initial deployment into a full-size Dash 8-400 aircraft.

ZeroAvia expects to fly a 19-seat aircraft using its ZA600 powertrain in the coming weeks in a hybrid configuration (one conventional engine, one hydrogen-electric) before flying the same aircraft using only hydrogen-electric engines in 2022 and building to certification by 2024. On its ZA2000 program, ZeroAvia aims to have full thrust ground demonstrations of its 1.8MW engine variant by the end of 2022. From there, the company plans certification of its ZA2000 powertrain to support 40-80 seat aircraft with a potential range in excess of 700 nautical miles – about the distance from Toronto to Atlanta – by 2026, and eventually extending into aircraft up to 90 seats by 2027.

Kemble, UK and Hollister, CA – December 21st, 2021: ZeroAvia, the leader in hydrogen-electric, zero-emission aviation, has added two new senior hires, and a new member to its advisory board, as it prepares to ramp up growth over the next 12 months.

James McMicking joins as ZeroAvia’s first Vice President of Strategy from the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) – the body in charge of developing the technology strategy for the UK aerospace sector. As one of the original executives to set up the ATI, McMicking held several positions throughout the business over seven years, including its Head of Strategy and Operations.

Kemble, UK, November 9 2021 – ZeroAvia, the leading innovator in hydrogen-electric zero emission powertrains, today announced that it has signed an agreement to partner with ASL Aviation Holdings in developing hydrogen-electric engine conversions for ATR72 aircraft. The project will ultimately include an order with ZeroAvia for converting up to 10 of ASL’s owned ATR72 freighter aircraft to hydrogen-electric propulsion, resulting in zero emission cargo operations.
 
Under the deal, ASL Airlines Ireland will provide a retired ATR72F aircraft for the program development and subsequent use as a demonstrator. ASL will then convert a number of owned aircraft on its freight operations, resulting in the launch of zero-emission hydrogen-electric powered operations for the carrier from 2026 onwards.
 
ASL Aviation Holdings and ZeroAvia are members of the ASL CargoVision Forum, an initiative to drive innovation and sustainability in the air cargo industry. Working together in this forum, ZeroAvia and ASL aim to use ZeroAvia’s new technology to  reduce emissions progressively in the regional sector where connectivity is a critical issue.