The Federal Aviation Administration recently granted a special airworthiness certificate in the experimental category to Universal Hydrogen Co., a hydrogen logistics network, for the first flight of a hydrogen-powered regional aircraft.
The company will conduct the first flight at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Wash.
The Dash 8-300 aircraft is the world’s second hydrogen-powered aircraft and the largest hydrogen fuel cell-powered airplane ever to fly. It has a megawatt-class hydrogen fuel cell powertrain.
“We are simultaneously providing a pragmatic, near-term solution for hydrogen infrastructure and delivery, as well as for converting existing passenger aircraft to use this lightweight, safe, and true-zero-emissions fuel,” Paul Eremenko, Universal Hydrogen co-founder and CEO, said. “Today’s milestones are essential, important steps to putting the industry on a trajectory to meet Paris Agreement obligations. The only alternative is curtailing aviation traffic growth to curb emissions.”
The company has released video footage of successful taxi tests. The tests evaluated ground handling qualities and the performance of the fuel-cell electric powertrain at low power settings and airspeeds.
Universal Hydrogen is also working to obtain a powertrain conversion kit certification to retrofit existing regional aircraft to fly on hydrogen. The company expects the kit will be available for commercial passenger service starting in 2025.