- Email: [email protected]
Plug Power, Universal Hydrogen plan fuel cell power for aircraft
NEWS Aerospace Technology Institute: www.ati.org.uk
ZeroAvia completes first hydrogen-electric passenger plane flight
U
S-based ZeroAvia has completed the first hydrogen fuel cell powered flight of a commercial-grade aircraft. The flight took place in late September at the company’s R&D facility in Cranfield, UK, with the Piper M-class six-seat plane completing taxi, takeoff, a full pattern circuit, and landing. During the eightminute flight the plane reached an altitude of 1000 ft (300 m) and a speed of 100 knots (185 km/h). This milestone on the road to zero-emission commercial flight is part of the HyFlyer project, led by ZeroAvia with partners the European Marine Energy Centre and Intelligent Energy. The project, part-funded through the UK government’s Aerospace Technology Institute programme, aims to decarbonise medium-range small passenger aircraft by demonstrating powertrain technology to replace conventional engines in propeller aircraft. The plane is equipped with a PowerCell MS-100 fuel cell system from PowerCell Sweden [see also page 15]. The hydrogenelectric flight builds on the UK’s first commercial-scale battery-electric flight, conducted in the same aircraft in June [FCB, June 2020, p1]. ZeroAvia will now focus on the final stage of its six-seat aircraft development programme – a 250 nautical mile (460 km) zero-emission flight from an airfield in Orkney, Scotland before the end of the year. This range demonstration is roughly equivalent to busy major routes such as Los Angeles–San Francisco or London–Edinburgh. EMEC is supplying the hydrogen required for flight tests and, in collaboration with Fuel Cell Systems Ltd, has developed a mobile hydrogen refueling solution which is compatible with the plane. FCSL [see also page 11] supplied a redeployable electrolyser for producing hydrogen and a mobile hydrogen refueling truck with 55 kg of hydrogen storage. ZeroAvia and EMEC have developed the Hydrogen Airport Refuelling Ecosystem (HARE) at Cranfield Airport as a microcosm of what the hydrogen airport ecosystem will look like in terms of ‘green’ hydrogen production, storage, refueling and fuel cell powered flight. ZeroAvia: www.zeroavia.com Intelligent Energy: www.intelligent-energy.com EMEC Hydrogen: www.emec.org.uk/hydrogen
6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
Fuel Cell Systems Ltd: www.fuelcellsystems.co.uk/hydrogen-refuelling PowerCell Sweden: www.powercell.se
Plug Power, Universal Hydrogen plan fuel cell power for aircraft
I
n the US, Plug Power is partnering with fuel logistics company Universal Hydrogen to develop, build and certify a commercially viable 2 MW hydrogen fuel cell-based propulsion system designed to power commercial regional aircraft. The initiative is part of Plug Power’s strategy to bring its ProGen PEM fuel cell technology – already deployed for trucks [see page 4] – to new markets such as commercial aviation and aerospace. The propulsion system incorporates a lightweight Plug Power ProGen-based fuel cell stack designed for aerospace applications and Universal Hydrogen’s modular hydrogen distribution and fuel delivery system. This technology will enable a converted mid-sized regional turboprop aircraft (such as the Dash 8 or ATR42/72 families) to fly for up to 1000 km (600 miles), which represents more than 90% of existing routes, and far longer than battery power alone can achieve. Newly established Universal Hydrogen and Plug Power will first integrate and test a full-scale, ground-based powertrain prototype (referred to as an ‘iron bird’). After a successful ground demonstration, the powertrain will be retrofitted into an aircraft, with flight test completion and regulatory approval under a Supplemental Type Certificate expected by 2024. Plug Power [see the feature in FCB, December 2011, and page 12 in this issue] recently expanded its ProGen platform to aerospace applications such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) [September 2020, p6].
Plug Power: www.plugpower.com Universal Hydrogen: www.hydrogen.aero
DOE ARPA-E funding fuel cell aviation R&D
T
he US Department of Energy has announced $13 million in funding for six fuel cell projects under the Range Extenders for Electric Aviation with Low Carbon and High Efficiency (REEACH) programme of its Advanced
Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). REEACH projects seek to create innovative, cost-effective, and high-performance energy storage and power generation subsystems for electric aircraft, with a focus on fuel-to-electric power conversion technologies: • GE Research (www.ge.com/research): FueL CelL Embedded ENgine (FLyCLEEN), integrating metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells with the combustion chamber of a gas turbine engine-generator. • University of Maryland (www.umd.edu): Hybrid SOFC-turbogenerator for powering narrow-body aircraft like the Boeing 737. • University of Louisiana at Lafayette (www. louisiana.edu): High-performance metalsupported SOFC system for range extension of commercial aviation. • University of California, San Diego (www. ucsd.edu): High-efficiency and low-carbon energy storage and power generation system for electric aviation, using SOFCs operating on bio-LNG. • Fuceltech Inc (Princeton Junction, New Jersey): Extremely lightweight, monopolar wound fuel cell based power supply system for commercial aircraft, running on reformed ethanol. • Precision Combustion Inc (www.precisioncombustion.com): SOFCs for all-electric propulsion of narrow-body commercial aircraft. ARPA-E: www.arpa-e.energy.gov REEACH projects: https://arpa-e.energy. gov/?q=document/reeach-project-descriptions
Ballard intros FCwave module to power ships
B
allard Power Systems has launched what it says it the fuel cell industry’s first module designed for primary propulsion power in marine vessels. The FCwave™ fuel cell product is a 200 kW modular unit that can be scaled in series up to the multi-MW power level. The FCwave product provides primary propulsion power for marine vessels – such as passenger and car ferries, river push boats, and fishing boats – as well as stationary electrical power to support ‘hotel’ and auxiliary loads on cruise ships and other vessels while docked at port (referred to as ‘cold ironing’). FCwave was designed to leverage Ballard’s technology and critical components already proven in existing product applications [see also page 13], to ensure that it can withstand the rigours of maritime applications while meeting all performance and safety requirements. The product offers an expected operating lifetime
October 2020
ZeroAvia completes first hydrogen-electric passenger plane flight
U
S-based ZeroAvia has completed the first hydrogen fuel cell powered flight of a commercial-grade aircraft. The flight took place in late September at the company’s R&D facility in Cranfield, UK, with the Piper M-class six-seat plane completing taxi, takeoff, a full pattern circuit, and landing. During the eightminute flight the plane reached an altitude of 1000 ft (300 m) and a speed of 100 knots (185 km/h). This milestone on the road to zero-emission commercial flight is part of the HyFlyer project, led by ZeroAvia with partners the European Marine Energy Centre and Intelligent Energy. The project, part-funded through the UK government’s Aerospace Technology Institute programme, aims to decarbonise medium-range small passenger aircraft by demonstrating powertrain technology to replace conventional engines in propeller aircraft. The plane is equipped with a PowerCell MS-100 fuel cell system from PowerCell Sweden [see also page 15]. The hydrogenelectric flight builds on the UK’s first commercial-scale battery-electric flight, conducted in the same aircraft in June [FCB, June 2020, p1]. ZeroAvia will now focus on the final stage of its six-seat aircraft development programme – a 250 nautical mile (460 km) zero-emission flight from an airfield in Orkney, Scotland before the end of the year. This range demonstration is roughly equivalent to busy major routes such as Los Angeles–San Francisco or London–Edinburgh. EMEC is supplying the hydrogen required for flight tests and, in collaboration with Fuel Cell Systems Ltd, has developed a mobile hydrogen refueling solution which is compatible with the plane. FCSL [see also page 11] supplied a redeployable electrolyser for producing hydrogen and a mobile hydrogen refueling truck with 55 kg of hydrogen storage. ZeroAvia and EMEC have developed the Hydrogen Airport Refuelling Ecosystem (HARE) at Cranfield Airport as a microcosm of what the hydrogen airport ecosystem will look like in terms of ‘green’ hydrogen production, storage, refueling and fuel cell powered flight. ZeroAvia: www.zeroavia.com Intelligent Energy: www.intelligent-energy.com EMEC Hydrogen: www.emec.org.uk/hydrogen
6
Fuel Cells Bulletin
Fuel Cell Systems Ltd: www.fuelcellsystems.co.uk/hydrogen-refuelling PowerCell Sweden: www.powercell.se
Plug Power, Universal Hydrogen plan fuel cell power for aircraft
I
n the US, Plug Power is partnering with fuel logistics company Universal Hydrogen to develop, build and certify a commercially viable 2 MW hydrogen fuel cell-based propulsion system designed to power commercial regional aircraft. The initiative is part of Plug Power’s strategy to bring its ProGen PEM fuel cell technology – already deployed for trucks [see page 4] – to new markets such as commercial aviation and aerospace. The propulsion system incorporates a lightweight Plug Power ProGen-based fuel cell stack designed for aerospace applications and Universal Hydrogen’s modular hydrogen distribution and fuel delivery system. This technology will enable a converted mid-sized regional turboprop aircraft (such as the Dash 8 or ATR42/72 families) to fly for up to 1000 km (600 miles), which represents more than 90% of existing routes, and far longer than battery power alone can achieve. Newly established Universal Hydrogen and Plug Power will first integrate and test a full-scale, ground-based powertrain prototype (referred to as an ‘iron bird’). After a successful ground demonstration, the powertrain will be retrofitted into an aircraft, with flight test completion and regulatory approval under a Supplemental Type Certificate expected by 2024. Plug Power [see the feature in FCB, December 2011, and page 12 in this issue] recently expanded its ProGen platform to aerospace applications such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones) [September 2020, p6].
Plug Power: www.plugpower.com Universal Hydrogen: www.hydrogen.aero
DOE ARPA-E funding fuel cell aviation R&D
T
he US Department of Energy has announced $13 million in funding for six fuel cell projects under the Range Extenders for Electric Aviation with Low Carbon and High Efficiency (REEACH) programme of its Advanced
Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). REEACH projects seek to create innovative, cost-effective, and high-performance energy storage and power generation subsystems for electric aircraft, with a focus on fuel-to-electric power conversion technologies: • GE Research (www.ge.com/research): FueL CelL Embedded ENgine (FLyCLEEN), integrating metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells with the combustion chamber of a gas turbine engine-generator. • University of Maryland (www.umd.edu): Hybrid SOFC-turbogenerator for powering narrow-body aircraft like the Boeing 737. • University of Louisiana at Lafayette (www. louisiana.edu): High-performance metalsupported SOFC system for range extension of commercial aviation. • University of California, San Diego (www. ucsd.edu): High-efficiency and low-carbon energy storage and power generation system for electric aviation, using SOFCs operating on bio-LNG. • Fuceltech Inc (Princeton Junction, New Jersey): Extremely lightweight, monopolar wound fuel cell based power supply system for commercial aircraft, running on reformed ethanol. • Precision Combustion Inc (www.precisioncombustion.com): SOFCs for all-electric propulsion of narrow-body commercial aircraft. ARPA-E: www.arpa-e.energy.gov REEACH projects: https://arpa-e.energy. gov/?q=document/reeach-project-descriptions
Ballard intros FCwave module to power ships
B
allard Power Systems has launched what it says it the fuel cell industry’s first module designed for primary propulsion power in marine vessels. The FCwave™ fuel cell product is a 200 kW modular unit that can be scaled in series up to the multi-MW power level. The FCwave product provides primary propulsion power for marine vessels – such as passenger and car ferries, river push boats, and fishing boats – as well as stationary electrical power to support ‘hotel’ and auxiliary loads on cruise ships and other vessels while docked at port (referred to as ‘cold ironing’). FCwave was designed to leverage Ballard’s technology and critical components already proven in existing product applications [see also page 13], to ensure that it can withstand the rigours of maritime applications while meeting all performance and safety requirements. The product offers an expected operating lifetime
October 2020