ZeroAvia’s Dornier 228 test aircraft, that has been retrofitted with a hydrogen-electric powertrain, completed a 10-minute test flight at the company’s R&D facility. This makes it the largest plane ever to be flown on a hydrogen powered engine.

The project is backed by the UK Governments and aerospace industries joint ATI Programme fund, which is targeting the development is small aircraft achieving zero emission flight.

ZeroAvia said this test flight included a hydrogen-electric powertrain made of two fuel cell stacks with lithium-ion battery packs providing additional power during take-off and landing.  The ZeroAvia powertrain provides 2-5mw of power. The hydrogen tanks and fuel cell power systems with stored in the cabin.

Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia said: “This is a major moment, not just for ZeroAvia, but for the aviation industry as a whole, as it shows that true zero-emission commercial flight is only a few years away. The first flight of our 19-seat aircraft shows just how scalable our technology is and highlights the rapid progress of zero-emission propulsion.”

ZeroAvia is now aiming to get certification for the planes configuration and hopes to deliver commercial routes using the technology by 2025.