According to news on September 10, German hydrogen power startup H2FLY successfully completed the world’s first manned flight using liquid hydrogen as fuel at an inconspicuous small airport in Maribor, Slovenia.

 

The flight marks the completion of the EU-funded HEAVEN project, which aims to demonstrate the feasibility of using liquid, cryogenic hydrogen in aircraft.

 

A few days ago, HY4 and its two pilots were in the air for 3 hours and 1 minute, consuming 10 kilograms of hydrogen. The aircraft has a maximum storage capacity of 24kg and can fly for eight hours.

 

It is understood that H2FLY’s power system consists of a hydrogen storage device, a 120kW fuel cell energy converter and an electric motor. This is H2FLY’s eighth flight test event.

 

The hydrogen-electric hybrid HY4 has been flying since 2016, but a breakthrough was made this summer, using liquid hydrogen as fuel instead of gaseous hydrogen. Liquid hydrogen has a higher energy density than gaseous hydrogen and can significantly reduce fuel tank size. weight and volume. In the world of air transport, especially when modifying aircraft, this equates to not having to remove as many passenger seats or reduce cargo space, i.e. payload.

 

But more importantly, it unlocks greater range. For the HY4 test aircraft, it can fly 750 kilometers using gaseous hydrogen, and 1500 kilometers using liquid hydrogen, which is twice the distance. However, liquid hydrogen requires cryogenic temperatures (approximately -253°C), which increases the complexity of transportation and refueling.

 

The HY4 is made from fiberglass and carbon fiber and will not enter commercial production. The next step for H2FLY is to expand the fuel cell system to megawatt capacity. The H2F-175 system will not only achieve a longer range, but also reach an altitude of 27,000 feet (IT Home Note: approximately 8,229 meters). Working with Deutsche Aircraft, they intend to retrofit a 30-seat Dornier 328 demonstrator aircraft with H2FLY’s hydrogen-electric fuel cells, with test flights scheduled to begin in 2025.

 

H2FLY was founded in 2015 by five engineers from the German Aerospace Center in Stuttgart and the University of Ulm. The company works on the development of the entire powertrain, but also develops individual components when necessary. In 2021, H2FLY was acquired by California-based company Joby Aviation, which is developing an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL) to provide air taxi services.