Octopus Hydrogen has joined forces with ZeroAvia to supply green hydrogen for its HyFlyer II programme.
On 26 August, ZeroAvia announced that the partnership will see Octopus Hydrogen provide 100% green hydrogen to its R&D centre at Cotsworld Airport in Kemble during testing, certification and first commercial operations of its zero emission hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrain technology as it continues with its HyFlyer II project. The eventual aim is to develop a certifiable 600kW hydrogen-electric fuel cell powertrain capable of powering a 19-seat aircraft with a 500 nautical mile range.
The goal is to bring the powertrain technology to market by 2024, allowing for early adoption of commercial zero emission flights.
The supply from Octopus Hydrogen – over 250kg of green, fuel cell grade, high pressure hydrogen per day – will be used to supplement ZeroAvia’s on-site electrolysis hydrogen production and be delivered into its mobile refuelling unit. For the larger HyFlyer II programme, following the breakthrough flight testing programme of a six-seat aircraft in HyFlyer I, ZeroAvia and its partners identified the need for an additional, ready supply of green hydrogen necessary to complement on-site production.
William Rowe, Octopus Hydrogen CEO and Founder, outlined how the company was started to deliver 100% green hydrogen to sectors unable to decarbonise using batteries alone, with aviation a “perfect use case” for it. Rowe added: “Global aviation accounts for around 2% of global human-induced CO2 emissions. So finding a way to maintain the benefits of flight without destroying our planet is a hugely exciting opportunity and critical for the UK to achieving Net Zero.”
