This aviation startup is soaring ahead with hydrogen-powered planes

Last month, a navy blue, six-seater aircraft took off at Cranfield Airport in England. Usually, a 15-minute, 20-mile flight wouldn’t be noteworthy – but this was the world’s first hydrogen fuel-cell-powered flight for a commercial-size aircraft.

The plane’s powertrain – the mechanism which drives the plane, including fuel tanks and engine – was built by ZeroAvia, a US and UK-based company developing hydrogen-electric engines. Using liquid hydrogen to feed fuel cells, the technology eliminates carbon emissions during the flight.

A conventional flight today produces half the CO2 generated by flights in 1990, largely thanks to an increase in fuel efficiency. However, due to record traffic growth, driven by increasing passenger numbers and trade volume, the aviation industry is creating more emissions than ever before – accounting for 2% of global manmade carbon emissions. This percentage is set to increase says Bobby Sethi, a senior lecturer in aviation at Cranfield University: other industries, like road transport, are “decarbonizing at a faster rate” he says, while aviation is lagging behind.

We've come a long way in aviation since Orville Wright took the historic first-ever flight in 1903. He and his brother Wilbur made four flights that day, the longest of which took less than a minute and covered a distance of just 852 feet (260 meters). It wasn't until 1905 that the Wright brothers successfully tried and tested a plane that was viable for transport purposes. Click through to see the planes that have transformed air travel.

The Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" accomplished a lot in its 10-year lifespan. The two-seat biplane was bulk-bought by the US military during World War I and used to train more than 90% of pilots. After the war, its low price helped it find a commercial market, and it became the signature plane of the "barnstorming" era when pilots took to performing dangerous aviation stunts for large crowds. In this picture, stuntwoman Gladys Roy walks on the plane's wings blindfolded.

Possibly the world's most famous plane, the Spirit of St. Louis -- a Ryan NYP monoplane -- made history in 1927 for making the first non-stop solo transatlantic flight. The pilot, Charles Lindbergh, helped design the plane. He was most concerned about making it lightweight, opting for a single-engine design and a wicker chair to lighten the load. The flight from New York to Paris made Lindbergh an instant celebrity and began a cultural obsession with aviation.

The Boeing S-307 Stratoliner heralded an aviation revolution in 1938, for something we now take for granted: a pressurized cabin. The first commercial aircraft equipped with this innovation, the Stratoliner could soar above turbulent weather at an altitude of 20,000 feet. One of the 10 aircraft made was famously bought by multimillionaire Howard Hughes, who converted it into a luxury flying penthouse.

An advanced version of the earlier B-29 (which became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in combat in 1945), the B-50 military bomber had a piston-powered engine -- it was one of the last of its kind because soon after that, aviation transitioned into the jet age. Its big moment came in 1949 when war veteran James Gallagher flew the "Lucky Lady II" on the first non-stop flight around the world. The plane was refueled mid-air four times, and the journey took 94 hours.

Nicknamed the "Jumbo Jet," the Boeing 747-400 changed the face of commercial travel and tourism. Launched in 1969, it more than doubled the seating capacity of commercial aircraft, ushering in an era of mass market air travel. The double-decker plane carried 416 passengers, a record it held for 37 years.

Concorde became the most famous supersonic passenger jet, but the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 got there first in 1975, four months ahead of its French competitor. Unfortunately, the Soviet plane suffered many technical failures, including two fatal crashes, over its short lifespan. It only completed 55 return flights before it was relegated to cargo in 1978. The government-funded program was discontinued just five years later.

Flying at twice the speed of sound, Concorde took its inaugural flight with passengers in 1976. A flight from London to New York took just three and half hours, but the noise and supersonic boom created by the aircraft meant it could only be used on very limited routes. Ultimately, the cost grounded these record-breaking planes in 2003.

The 1983 Boeing 747-300 incorporated many cosmetic changes to the classic Boeing aircraft, including increased passenger capacity. However, the most important upgrade was not visible. The 747-300's engine reduced fuel burn by 25% per passenger. Fuel efficiency has become a big concern as the climate crisis intensifies: today, airlines are exploring formation flying and a V-shaped plane to improve fuel efficiency.

Part-plane, part-spacecraft, the privately funded SpaceShipOne used rocket fuel to send humans to space. It made history in 2004 with the first manned suborbital flight, rocketing 69.6 miles above the Earth's surface, which snagged the $10 million Ansari X Prize. The aircraft was retired the following year, but SpaceShipTwo is now being developed by Virgin Galactic for space tourism.

After the success of the first solar-powered plane in 2009, the Solar Impulse 2 took off from Abu Dhabi in March 2015 on the first solar-powered flight to circumnavigate the world. With a total of 500 flight hours, the plane covered 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers). The plane's 48-hour final leg, from Cairo back to Abu Dhabi, took place in July 2016.

In December 2019, Vancouver-based seaplane company Harbour Air made history with the first all-electric commercial aircraft flight. The de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver seaplane, which was first flown in 1947, was retrofitted with a 750 horsepower magni500 electric engine from magniX.

magniX made headlines again in June 2020 when AeroTEC's nine-seater eCaravan -- powered by the magni500 electric propulsion system -- became the largest all-electric commercial aircraft to fly to date.

On September 24th 2020, ZeroAvia flew the world's largest hydrogen-powered aircraft at Cranfield Airport in England, showing the possibilities of hydrogen fuel in the future of aviation.

14 aircraft that changed the way we fly

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Some companies are pushing ahead with climate-friendly solutions in a bid to catch up. The Electric Aviation Group’s 70-seat hybrid-electric aircraft aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 75% and is expected to enter service in 2028, while Airbus recently announced that it aims to manufacture three hydrogen aircraft, sitting up to 200 passengers, by 2035.

But there is a long wait until these models come to market and aviation needs a solution now, says ZeroAvia founder and CEO Val Miftakhov.

With funding from UK government-backed bodies including the Aerospace Technology Institute and Innovate UK, ZeroAvia wants to plug the gap as aviation technology develops, and provide a sustainable solution for short and medium haul flights.

Miftakhov, who piloted ZeroAvia’s test flight, says the company’s technology is designed to be retrofitted into existing aircraft. He claims that ZeroAvia will have hydrogen-powered commercial planes taking to the sky in just three years.

Airbus unveiled its ZEROe zero-emission concept in September 2020, and claims it will be commerically available by 2035.

An energy-dense fuel

While the spotlight has been on electric aviation for the past decade, the limitations of current battery technology restricts its expansion. Currently, lithium ion batteries are around 48 times less energy dense than kerosene, says Sethi.

This means scaling up is a problem for electric aviation. The largest electric plane flown to date is the 9-seater eCaravan. It has a range of only 100 miles – for which it requires a battery weighing 2,000 pounds.

Sethi highlights that in larger planes, like a Boeing 747, the battery would far exceed the plane’s maximum take-off weight. “It’s just not possible unless battery technology improves significantly, which is why hydrogen is a more viable option to fuel aircraft in the future,” he says.

Having previously worked with electric car batteries, Miftakhov is well-versed in their pros and cons and that’s why he opted for hydrogen. Compared to even the “wildest predictions for battery technology,” hydrogen – which is three times more energy dense than regular jet fuel – has greater potential, he says.

Starting with short haul

While long haul flights generate more carbon emissions per flight, short haul flights create more CO2 emissions per person, per kilometer.

That’s why tackling short haul flights is the first step in cutting aviation carbon emissions. In 2019, Norway announced a 2040 goal for emission-free domestic air travel, while both Austria and France bailed out their national carriers during the Covid-19 pandemic, with conditions to reduce the number of domestic flights.

ZeroAvia predicts that by 2023, it will have developed engines that can power 10 to 20-seat aircraft flying up to 500 miles – the distance between London and Zurich, or Paris and Barcelona. By 2026 they will be flying up to 80 passengers the same distance, says Miftakhov, enabling airlines to keep short haul routes while limiting environmental damage.

The company hopes to expand to medium haul flights by 2030 – flying over 100 passengers up to 1,000 miles, the distance between London and Rome.

New fuel, new infrastructure

ZeroAvia’s ability to retrofit existing aircraft means it can get its hydrogen-electric technology in the air in a short time frame, says Miftakhov. Additionally, pilots won’t have to retrain, as the controls and operations will be the same.

But switching to a new fuel will require new infrastructure.

At its base in Cranfield Airport, in collaboration with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), ZeroAvia has created a model for a self-sufficient hydrogen airport. This includes an on-site, electrolysis-based hydrogen generator, hydrogen storage facilities and refueling trucks.

The hydrogen used to fuel the test flight was made using 50% renewable energy, but ZeroAvia is working towards making its hydrogen production entirely renewable by the end of the year. Miftakhov says he is starting with airlines and airports that are keen to install on-site hydrogen production.

Miftakhov steps out of the six-seater plane after the successful 20-mile test flight in September 2020.

ZeroAvia’s next step is to carry out a longer test flight to showcase its powertrain’s capacity, by flying the six-seater on a 250-mile journey from an airbase in Orkney.

As a pilot and avid traveller, who wants to “stop trashing our environment,” developing a way to fly sustainably is both a personal and professional calling for Miftakhov. He hopes that ZeroAvia can take aviation from being a damaging industry to a “good thing again.”

“There’s something about the personal freedom that aviation gives you,” says Miftakhov. “Whether it’s personal travel, reuniting with your family, or taking your kids to different places and having them experience different cultures, it’s very important.”

This story has been updated to clarify that the plane undertaking the landmark flight used fuel cells to store energy.