Two years ago, Spanish airline group Air Nostrum doubled its commitment for Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) Airlander from 10 to 20 aircraft, delivering a boost to the UK developer ahead of its planned production start and certification campaign which could see British tourists flying to Mallorca and the Balearics by airship. Air Nostrum had originally reserved 10 examples of the hybrid airship in a 100-passenger configuration in June 2022.
The reservation agreement followed six months of rigorous studies and modelling carried out by Air Nostrum Group and HAV into the operation of Airlander 10 on Spanish domestic aviation routes and the associated economics. And now it appears there is a date for when the Airlanders will come into operation.
ZeroAvia and Hybrid Air Vehicles today announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to partner on development of a hydrogen-electric variant of Airlander 10.
Airlander 10 is a new type of hybrid aircraft that uses a combination of aerostatic lift, aerodynamic lift, and vectored thrust, with a 10 tonne payload and 4,000 nautical mile maximum range. The initial Airlander 10 will be powered by four diesel engines, providing an emissions reduction of up to 90% when compared with comparable capacity aircraft. Integrating ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric propulsion will deliver full zero-emission in-flight operations carrying 100+ passengers, as well as reduced maintenance costs.
ZeroAvia’s first generation 600kW hydrogen-electric powertrain – ZA600 – has already passed several regulatory milestones, secured hundreds of pre-orders and signed up launch customer airlines who are working to embed the system into more traditional fixed-wing aircraft for lower cost and more environmentally friendly flight. The company has conducted flight testing of a prototype on board a 19-seat aircraft.
With ample space for hydrogen storage in the hull, the Airlander represents an excellent option for adopting the first generation of certified hydrogen technologies that are already close to market entry: hydrogen storage, low temperature PEM fuel cell power generation and electric propulsion systems that are well advanced in the certification journey. This partnership will build on HAV’s earlier R&D work to explore electric propulsion for Airlander.
As part of the agreement, the companies will also study the potential applicability of ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric technology to future larger aircraft developed by Hybrid Air Vehicles, and assess planned Airlander 10 operations to define the hydrogen fuel infrastructure requirements. Tom Grundy, CEO, Hybrid Air Vehicles, said: “ZeroAvia has led the development of hydrogen-electric propulsion systems and made impressive progress commercially, technically and with regulators. Our intention has always been to offer our customers a fully zero-emission variant of the Airlander, for efficiency and environmental reasons, and this partnership with ZeroAvia will help us in this direction.”
Val Miftakhov, Founder and CEO, ZeroAvia, said: “Airlander is another exciting airframe for line-fit of our powertrains as it can open up a whole new market in air travel due to its range, efficiency and ability to operate from almost anywhere. Like ZeroAvia, Hybrid Air Vehicles is an aerospace innovator with exciting manufacturing and growth plans for the UK that can deliver hundreds of well-paid jobs in different regions in the UK.”
And last year, George Land told the Bulletin: “We know Air Nostrum is very keen, so Airlanders over Spain and between the Balearics could only be a matter of years away, certainly before 2029. “In the case of Palma Airport, there is plenty of room to operate an Airlander, tighter or thinner airports are not suitable. However, we can operate an Airlander from green sites because the infrastructure required is minimal, damage to the ground is zero. It all depends on the space because when the airships land they do so attached to a mast which they may swing round. So while the airships are 96 metres long, they will need a clear circumference circle area of 200 metres,” he explained.