Aviation decarbonisation company, Zeroavia, has taken delivery of a Toyota Mirai fuel cell car at its Cranfield base in the UK, where it will form part of the company’s Hydrogen Airport Refuelling System (HARE).
Toyota says HARE is the world’s first on-airport zero emission hydrogen production, storage and refuelling system.
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Zeroavia is partnering with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), as part of the UK government-funded HyFlyer project, which aims to decarbonise medium-range small passenger aircraft using hydrogen.
EMEC has developed mobile hydrogen refuelling infrastructure to supply fuel to the aircraft, featuring a self-contained hydrogen production and refuelling capacity.
In addition to developing an integrated hydrogen ecosystem, Zeroavia plans to offer modular hydrogen-electric aviation solutions for a variety of markets, including commercial passenger transport, package delivery and agriculture, initially focusing on 10-20 seat aircraft with a 500-mile range.
It also says it is developing the world’s first commercial hydrogen-electric powertrain, enabling longer distance zero emission flights with more passengers and cargo.
Zeroavia has secured experimental certificates for its two prototype aircraft, passing flight test milestones and is on track for commercial operations at the end of 2023. In June, 2020, it successfully carried out the UK and Europe’s first commercial-grade electric flight.
Zeroavia is developing hydrogen powertrains in the UK with support from HyFlyer project funding from the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute and Innovate UK and is also part of the UK government’s Jet Zero Council.
With the latest Mirai delivery, supported by the OLEV (Office for Low Emission Vehicles) hydrogen for transport scheme, the range of companies and organisations using the vehicle is expanding, from private hire operators, museums and universities, police forces and public bodies, to aircraft and hydrogen refuelling developers.
