The flight, which took off at Grant County International Airport in Washington State, was in the air for 15 minutes, reaching an altitude of 3,500 feet MSL.
The 40-passenger airplane was built with Plug’s ProGen fuel cells that have been adapted for aviation use and the company claims they allow fleets to achieve greater range.
Paul Eremenko, Universal Hydrogen co-founder and CEO, said, “The airplanes are converted to hydrogen using an aftermarket retrofit conversion kit, tackling the existing fleet rather than developing a brand-new airplane.
“And hydrogen fuelling uses modular capsules compatible with existing freight networks and airport cargo handling equipment, making every airport in the world hydrogen-ready.”
Andy Marsh, Plug Power CEO, added, “We’ve long said hydrogen can power applications, such as planes, while reducing toxic carbon emissions. Today we proved it, and we’re one step closer to a more sustainable future.”
Universal Hydrogen and Plug Power announced they were developing fuel cells made for regional aircraft in 2021. The companies aim to complete the construction of a subscale aircraft powertrain, before retrofitting it into a 40 to 60 passenger regional aircrafts.
Read more: Plug Power and Universal Hydrogen strengthen partnership for hydrogen-fuelled aviation
Universal Hydrogen later announced it would accelerate the development of hydrogen propulsion for regional aircraft after securing $20.5m in funding.
Read more: Universal Hydrogen raises $20.5m to accelerate hydrogen aviation
In January (2023), ZeroAvia recorded its first flight powered by a hydrogen-electric engine. The maiden flight of its 19-seat Dornier 228 testbed aircraft, retrofitted with a full-size prototype hydrogen-electric powertrain, took place in Gloucestershire, UK, and lasted six minutes.
The flight was part of the HyFlyer II project which targets development of a 600kW powertrain to support 9-19 seat aircraft worldwide with zero-emission flight.
Read more: ZeroAvia records first flight powered by hydrogen-electric engine
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