£5.3mn of UK Government funding has been awarded to the HyFlyer project to demonstrate hydrogen fuel cell powertrain technology for aviation, the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) announced on 18 September.
The HyFlyer project, led by aviation technology developer ZeroAvia, aims to decarbonise medium-range small passenger aircraft by demonstrating powertrain technology utilising electric motors, hydrogen fuel cells and gas storage.
The project will culminate in a 250-300 nautical mile demonstration flight out of an airfield based in Orkney.
Richard Ainsworth, Hydrogen Project Specialist at EMEC Hydrogen, said: “HyFlyer is another key step in Orkney’s aim to decarbonise lifeline transport services for islanded communities. Hydrogen has the potential to help meet our emission commitments where electrons and batteries can’t. This project sees us one step closer to meeting our fuel and energy needs from abundant local renewable energy resources using green hydrogen.”
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