Joby affiliate H2FLY passes hydrogen fuel test flight milestone

H2FLY, the German affiliate of air taxi developer Joby, has passed a major technological and aviation milestone in clear power transportation, with the successful test flights of what it hailed as the world’s first piloted electric aircraft fueled by liquid hydrogen.

Stuttgart-based H2FLY said it completed a total of four flights of its demonstration HY4 airplane above Maribor, Slovenia, each using liquid hydrogen as fuel. The startup, which Joby bought in 2021, said one of the sorties lasted over three hours, marking both a significant duration and novel form of hydrogen use as the power source of an electric aircraft. 

Previously, developers of the tech as a clean, sustainable future alternative to fossil fuels had relied on reduced-scale hydrogen cells for smaller craft like drones, and larger systems converting hydrogen gas stored in voluminous onboard tanks to electricity to power bigger aircraft.

Read: HevenDrones CEO says hydrogen fuel could charge UK’s massive drone superhighway project

Joby’s H2FLY affiliate, by contrast, conducted its trial campaign using far more compact, cryogenically stored liquid hydrogen that – once converted to electricity – powered its HY4 demonstrator plane. 

In addition to those flights representing what the company called the first ever piloted sorties using that approach, the successful test runs also raised hopes for the rapid development of hydrogen as a clean fuel source to take over from carbon producing fossil fuels. 

Indeed, according to H2FLY, the results of its tests indicate the use of liquid rather than gaseous hydrogen will allow it to double the maximum range of its HY4 aircraft from 750 km to 1,500 km. 

That, in turn, opens the prospect of the tech being further developed to enable entirely carbon-free flights of electrified aircraft on medium- and longer-haul routes of the kind commercial airlines operate.

“This achievement marks a watershed moment in the use of hydrogen to power aircraft,” said H2FLY cofounder Josef Kallo. “Together with our partners, we have demonstrated the viability of liquid hydrogen to support medium and long-range emissions-free flight. We are now looking ahead to scaling up our technology for regional aircraft and other applications, beginning the critical mission of decarbonizing commercial aviation.”

The results are also a big breakthrough for the European Union-backed Project HEAVEN, a consortium founded to develop the use of liquid hydrogen in aircraft. The group is led by H2FLY and supported by tech and industrial partners that include Air Liquide, Pipistrel Vertical Solutions, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies, and Fundación Ayesa.

Read: Dronamics seeks hydrogen fuel cells for middle-mile drone delivery

The breakthrough could have big implications across the aviation sector, not the least being for the longer, more effective deployment of enterprise drones, as well as UAV-based services being planned like electric craft long-range cargo transportation and air taxis.

Joby’s own work toward launching electric-powered air taxi services also stands to benefit from H2FLY’s liquid hydrogen breakthrough – eventually, that is.

Over time, as hydrogen technology is improved, perfected, and reduced in size, the Santa Cruz, CA startup may move to adapt it as an onboard-generated power source to replace batteries that will fuel its first generation of short-distance air taxis.

“In the years to come, battery-electric and hydrogen-electric propulsion systems will enable us to build aircraft that are quieter and make mid- to long-range air travel possible with zero emissions,” said Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt. “It’s critical we take action now and invest aggressively in these technologies for the health of our planet and future generations to come.”