Taxiing down the runway the aircraft achieved rotation speed, the pilot applied pressure to the controls and the Piper M-class six-seat aircraft takes to the air. It completes a full pattern circuit before landing back at Cranfield Airport. On the ground the flight was watched by the UK Aviation Minister, Robert Courts, because this wasn’t just any flight - this was the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell powered flight of a commercial-grade aircraft.
The flight is the first step in realising the transformational possibilities of moving from fossil fuels to zero-emission hydrogen as the primary energy source for commercial aviation.
ZeroAvia, the leading innovator in decarbonising commercial aviation, is working closely with Cranfield Aerospace Solutions to integrate and certify the hydrogen powertrain technology, achieve certification from the Civil Aviation Authority for the aircraft, and perform initial flight tests.
The flight on 24 September 2020 follows the first-ever electric-powered flight yesterday of a commercial-scale aircraft carried out in the UK in June. That flight test was also carried out by ZeroAvia.
The work is part of the HyFlyer project, a sequential R&D programme supported by the UK Government, which aims to decarbonise medium range small passenger aircraft by demonstrating powertrain technology - replacing conventional piston engines in propeller aircraft.
It hasn’t all been plain sailing though - lockdown has presented challenges, but thanks to the support of Cranfield’s Airport’s Operations team, Cranfield University, and Cranfield Aerospace, the HyFlyer project has made big strides in progressing the programme with minimal delays and which will culminate in a 250 – 300 nautical mile demonstration flight out of an airfield in Orkney. The demonstration of this range is roughly equivalent to busy major routes such as Los Angeles to San Francisco or London to Edinburgh.
The case for acting on aviation emissions
According to the Air Transport Action Group, aviation is responsible for 12% of CO2 emissions from all transport sources and is one of the fastest-growing sources of global emissions.
Direct emissions from aviation account for about 3% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions and more than 2% of global emissions. If global aviation was a country, it would rank in the top 10 emitters.
In 2020, global annual international aviation emissions are already around 70% higher than in 2005, and in the absence of additional measures, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) forecasts that they could grow by over 300% by 2050. This trend needs to be reversed if we are to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Did you know?
Someone flying from Paris to New York and back generates roughly the same level of emissions as the average person in the EU does by heating their home for a whole year.
The case for acting on aviation emissions is clear and the HyFlyer project presents significant opportunities to decarbonise aviation and reduce emissions.
The question is not if we will do it, but when?
At Cranfield University, through our global research airport, we are playing our part in making aviation more environmentally sustainable.
- Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, along with its industrial partners, is developing Project Fresson which aims to deliver short-haul electric flight to the Highlands and Islands within the next five years.
- Academics at Cranfield are leading the EU-funded, EnableH2 project that aims to develop a blueprint for a hydrogen-powered demonstrator aircraft by 2030.
- Professor Iain Gray was appointed to the newly formed Jet Zero Council - a joint initiative between the Department for Transport and the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The Council aims to bring together leading figures in industry, academia and government to drive forward sustainable aviation with the goal of having a transatlantic zero carbon flight within a generation.
Professor Iain Gray, Director of Aerospace at Cranfield University, Convenor of the UK Aerospace Research Consortium and Jet Zero Council member, said: “All of us across the industry are committed to doing our bit to cut emissions in order to tackle the threat of climate change. We do not know yet what is fully possible in terms of transitioning all aviation to zero-emission flight but we do know that short-haul, particularly island hopping, looks achievable quickly.
“In order to achieve zero emissions across all aviation, we are going to need the same commitment, resource and dedication that the US showed when President Kennedy committed their nation to landing a person on the moon within a decade.”
Will we get there? Professor Gray thinks we will. Zero emission flight and the green recovery has the backing of Government, industry and academia, who are all coming together in a way not seen before. The question should be not whether we will do it, but how long will it take? And at Cranfield we will do all we can to make sure it happens.