Under the agreement, the clean aircraft venture will support SHZ in adapting its patented liquid hydrogen storage and distribution technologies for a Z4 variant, expected to deliver “up to 50% greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions” than conventional jets.

The partnership has been formed under the NASA Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability 2050 (AACES) project, which is designed to analyse and design technical storage and distribution solutions for liquid hydrogen air transport.

JetZero received an AACES grant last year to explore technologies that would enable cryogenic liquid hydrogen as a fuel for commercial aviation.

The United Airlines-backed venture is designing an all-wing aircraft, which merges wings and fuselage into a single aerodynamic body, making it far more efficient and suited for carrying alternative fuels like liquid hydrogen.

“Due to the wider fuselage, the airframe is far more compatible with liquid hydrogen fuel tanks, without sacrificing passenger seating as a tube and wing aeroplane would,” SZH explained in a press statement.

The startup’s Co-Founder, Eric Schulz, explained that JetZero will only move to hydrogen once SZH’s liquid hydrogen tank design can be integrated, resembling a step-by-step path to zero-emission flight.

However, the partnership comes amid growing scrutiny of hydrogen aviation, with Airbus delaying its ZEROe programme beyond 2035 and high-profile startups like Universal Hydrogen and Apus Zero Emission collapsing, leaving questions over the fuel’s future in flight.

Although lighter than conventional jet fuel, liquid hydrogen must be stored at –253°C, posing challenges for aviation.