World's largest hydrogen-electric passenger plane all set to take its maiden flight

RahulNagaraj · 10th February 2023, 10:57

California-based aviation company, Universal Hydrogen, has received experimental airworthiness certification for its Dash-300 from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to take flight. Once in the air, it will become the largest hydrogen-electric-powered aircraft to do so.

Started in 2020, this is the company's second product. The aircraft resembles the ATR's configuration and is said to utilize a megawatt-class hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain installed in one of its nacelles. Called the Dash-300 flying testbed, the aircraft is capable of carrying over 40 passengers using renewable fuel.

World's largest hydrogen-electric passenger plane all set to take its maiden flight-hydrogenelectricpassengerplane.jpg

According to reports, the Dash-300 doesn't use a hybrid battery architecture. Instead, all the power generated from the fuel cells is directly transmitted to the electric motors, which helps the aircraft reduce both weight and lifecycle costs.

Universal Hydrogen has already completed its first taxi tests to evaluate the plane's ground handling & performance at low speeds. With the FAA certifications and ground tests done, reports state that the company's maiden flight is expected to take place in the coming months.

The company's first product was a conversion kit for the ATR 72-600, which is capable of transporting 44 - 78 passengers on traditional fuel engines. These conversion kits are expected to be certified and in commercial passenger service by 2025.

Source: Electrek

V.Narayan · 10th February 2023, 12:58

Thank you @RahulNagaraj for sharing this. A step in the right direction IMHO so far as hydrogen as a power source goes. A hydrogen fuel cell makes a lot more sense than installing cryogenic hydrogen fuel tanks with all their weight/cooling machinery issues. It will be interesting to get the details of the electric motor and fuel cells. This, in my limited knowledge opinion, is better than the Rolls Royce route of a gas turbine burning hydrogen as a fuel described here https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/comme...ircraft-3.html (Electric & hydrogen powered aircraft)

Electric batteries simply cannot work in aviation due to weight versus energy density issues which cannot be addressed unless we find a 10X breakthrough in battery energy density. Hydrogen fuel cells offer one possible solution. I wonder about the kwh/kg of these cells.

As air travel contributes a substantial 2% to the green house gases being dumped into the atmosphere a solution for non-hydrocarbon fuel will be helpful. It would also change the way airliners look.

Looking forward to the first test flight.

10th February 2023, 10:57	#1
RahulNagaraj Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,123 Thanked: 20,659 Times	World's largest hydrogen-electric passenger plane all set to take its maiden flight California-based aviation company, Universal Hydrogen, has received experimental airworthiness certification for its Dash-300 from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to take flight. Once in the air, it will become the largest hydrogen-electric-powered aircraft to do so. Started in 2020, this is the company's second product. The aircraft resembles the ATR's configuration and is said to utilize a megawatt-class hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain installed in one of its nacelles. Called the Dash-300 flying testbed, the aircraft is capable of carrying over 40 passengers using renewable fuel. According to reports, the Dash-300 doesn't use a hybrid battery architecture. Instead, all the power generated from the fuel cells is directly transmitted to the electric motors, which helps the aircraft reduce both weight and lifecycle costs. Universal Hydrogen has already completed its first taxi tests to evaluate the plane's ground handling & performance at low speeds. With the FAA certifications and ground tests done, reports state that the company's maiden flight is expected to take place in the coming months. The company's first product was a conversion kit for the ATR 72-600, which is capable of transporting 44 - 78 passengers on traditional fuel engines. These conversion kits are expected to be certified and in commercial passenger service by 2025. Source: Electrek
	(4) Thanks

10th February 2023, 12:58	#2
V.Narayan Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Delhi-NCR Posts: 4,071 Thanked: 64,306 Times	Re: World's largest hydrogen-electric passenger plane all set to take its maiden flight Thank you @RahulNagaraj for sharing this. A step in the right direction IMHO so far as hydrogen as a power source goes. A hydrogen fuel cell makes a lot more sense than installing cryogenic hydrogen fuel tanks with all their weight/cooling machinery issues. It will be interesting to get the details of the electric motor and fuel cells. This, in my limited knowledge opinion, is better than the Rolls Royce route of a gas turbine burning hydrogen as a fuel described here https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/comme...ircraft-3.html (Electric & hydrogen powered aircraft) Electric batteries simply cannot work in aviation due to weight versus energy density issues which cannot be addressed unless we find a 10X breakthrough in battery energy density. Hydrogen fuel cells offer one possible solution. I wonder about the kwh/kg of these cells. As air travel contributes a substantial 2% to the green house gases being dumped into the atmosphere a solution for non-hydrocarbon fuel will be helpful. It would also change the way airliners look. Looking forward to the first test flight. Last edited by V.Narayan : 10th February 2023 at 13:09.
	(6) Thanks