A German consortium has secured €9.3m ($10m) of government funding to develop hydrogen fuel cell systems to power regional aircraft.
Led by Stuttgart-based H2FLY, the BALIS 2.0 Project plans to develop and test a 350kW fuel cell system that will serve as the base module to develop megawatt-class hydrogen-electric powertrain systems, which could power 40-80 seater aircraft.
The project will be supported by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Diehl Aerospace, which will study coupling behaviours and develop platform technology for scaling.
Last June (2023), H2FLY announced plans for its H175 programme to develop a high-performance and modular power unit for commercial aircraft applications.
Read more: HFLY announces new fuel cell programme to take hydrogen-powered flight higher
DLR’s BALIS test field in Empfingen, Germany, will host the trials, with initial ground tests of the 350kW system planned for 2025.
Funded by the German Transport Ministry’s (BMDV), Prof. Dr. Josef Kallo, co-founder and CEO of H2FLY, said the funding demonstrated the “growing significance of hydrogen fuel cell systems as a viable solution of clean aviation.”
“The project insights will propel the development of megawatt-class powertrains, significantly accelerating the transition to sustainable, zero-emission flight,” he said.
Dr. Volker Wissing, Transport Minister, added BALIS 2.0 would create the technical foundation for “marketable solutions for tomorrow’s CO2-neutral flying.”
Wissing said, “The de-fossilisation of aviation is an immense global challenge. Hydrogen offers great potential to significantly contribute to achieving climate targets and realising CO2-neutral global travel and freight transport in the future.”
It comes after H2FLY completed the world’s “first” manned liquid hydrogen-powered fight of a fuel cell electric aircraft in Maribor, Slovenia, in September 2023.
Read more: INSIDE: H2FLY’s liquid hydrogen-powered flight
Why H2FLY is committed to hydrogen-powered flight
© H2FLY | Josef Kallo
For all the energy and excitement being put into hydrogen-powered flight development, even now in 2024, the companies to have taken to the skies, relying solely on hydrogen electric powertrains remains extremely limited.
Being fortunate enough to attend one of those test flights, H2 View in September 2023 on a sunny airfield in Maribor, Slovenia, witnessed H2FLY’s HY4 prototype aircraft take to the skies using liquid hydrogen for the very first time.
The liquid hydrogen test flight followed over 110 successful flights using gaseous hydrogen since 2016. In 2022 it set a world record, flying at 7,230ft on a 77-mile journey between Stuttgart and Friedrichshafen.
Despite the achievement coming as the “first” manned liquid hydrogen flight with a fuel cell aircraft, by speaking to Prof. Josef Kallo, co-founder and CEO of H2FLY, six months on, it’s clear the company has no plans of slowing down…
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