Hydrogen Fuel Cell eVOTL and Jets To Push Out Fossil Fuels

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The field of VOTL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft has been widening now that the potential for zero emission flight has emerged, with both batteries and hydrogen fuel cells in the mix. Another environmental plus in the eVOTL column is the use of relatively small pads for landing and takeoff, compared to the vast, wide swaths of runways and secondary infrastructure needed for jet aircraft. The big question, as usual, is what to do about the hydrogen.

How Far Can A Hydrogen Fuel Cell eVOTL Go?

Anothor question is range, and that was answered last week by the eVOTL innovator Joby Aviation. Better known for its dip into the battery-electric pool, the California-based firm has also been trying its hand at hydrogen fuel cell flight (see more Joby eVOTL background here).

On July 11, Joby announced the successful completion of a 523-mile flight by its new hydrogen fuel cell demonstrator eVOTL, billed as the first of its kind.

That’s a respectable showing compared to the longest-range civilian helicopters on the market today. The aviation and construction firm Fair Lifts ran the numbers for the top 10 longest-range civilian helicopters and other VOTL running on conventional fuel in 2024. They came up a range of 420 miles for the Bell 429, 515 miles for the Airbus H155, and 528 miles for the Airbus H160 at the low end.

Joby also came fairly close to matching the Leonardo AW 169, which registered 563 miles. For the record, other top 10 VOTL weighed in far beyond that, ranging 600-800 miles and over. Still, Joby is more than satisfied with hitting the  500 mile sweet spot for regional travel in the US.

“Imagine being able to fly from San Francisco to San Diego, Boston to Baltimore, or Nashville to New Orleans without the need to go to an airport and with no emissions except water,” explains Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt in a press statement.

Yes, imagine that. Travel by rail is a less emission-laden option for short-distance trips in Europe and other parts of the globe, but here in the US it’s a crapshoot. Until the US passenger rail system can recover from decades of neglect, the eVOTL field can help fill in the gaps.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Flight For Longer Trips

As for longer-range flights on the order of cross-national and international routes, eVOTL technology is not quite there, but hydrogen fuel cell passenger jets could fit the bill. New activity in that field emerged on July 2, when the US startup ZeroAvia announced that American Airlines has added another round of funding to its investment in the company. The airliner has conditionally committed to buy 100 hydrogen fuel cell aircraft from ZeroAvia, too.

Regional routes are ZeroAvia’s initial target, with longer distances to come in the future (see lots more ZeroAvia background here).

“The company is flight testing a prototype for a 20-seat plane and designing an engine for larger aircraft such as the Bombardier CRJ700, which American operates on certain regional routes,” ZeroAvia says of itself.

ZeroAvia anticipates certification of the 20-seater next year, with plans for 40-80 seats in the works by 2027.

Make That Green Hydrogen Fuel Cell Aircraft

The hydrogen question swooped into the mainstream media spotlight last week, when dozens of scientists wrote an open letter protesting the use of Toyota’s Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car as the official vehicle of the Paris Olympics.

The scientists make the case for designating a battery electric car as the official vehicle, based on a comparison of environmental impacts. Personally, I don’t think any passenger car makes the cut, whether it runs on batteries, hydrogen, or bunker oil. Perhaps those in charge should have designated a bicycle as the official vehicle, rather than leveraging the high profile of the Olympic games to reinforce car culture and its attendant baggage train of infrastructure and congestion.

Be that as it may, one of the objections raised by the scientists involves the over-use of renewable energy resources to generate the electricity to produce green hydrogen, with green referring to hydrogen pushed from water by an electrical current. That’s an important issue, considering that at least two other activities — cryptocurrency mining and data centers — are also sucking up energy resources as fast as developers can build them.

One emerging strategy for green hydrogen involves putting excess renewable energy to use. That would involve using wind turbines at night when demand is low. Depending on local conditions, excess solar power generated during the day can also play a role.

ZeroAvia has been advocating for green hydrogen as a more sustainable alternative to the conventional supply chain, which relies on hydrogen extracted from natural gas or coal. The company also indicates that the over-use of renewable energy assets is a concern. On July 9, ZeroAvia dropped word of new software aimed at optimizing the use of excess renewable energy for green hydrogen production, while pushing costs down.

Another Thumbs-Up For The Hydrogen Powered Flight Of The Future

With the future of the hydrogen fuel cell passenger car growing dimmer by the minute, hydrogen stakeholders are depending on other transportation modes to fill the gap, including buses, locomotives, vans, trucks, and ships as well as eVOTL and jets.

Circling back around to the eVOTL field, Joby is just one example of hydrogen fuel cell activity in the area. Another up-and-comer is the eVOTL startup Alaka’i Technologies. The Massachusetts-based company is new to the CleanTechnica radar, so drop a note in the comment thread if you’ve heard anything about them.

Piasecki Aircraft Corporation is another US firm to watch. Last year the company earned a $37 million contract with the US Air Force AFWERX advanced technologies program, aimed at developing hydrogen fuel cell systems for the eVOTL field. The contract involves Piasecki’s PA-890 Slowed Rotor Compound Helicopter, which the company is billing as “the world’s first zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell powered commercial helicopter.”

In an interesting twist, Piasecki has enlisted ZeroAvia to support the testing phase. “In partnership with ZeroAvia, Piasecki will develop and test HTPEM hydrogen fuel cells for VTOL applications, including a HAXEL proof-of-concept flight demonstrator and a full-scale 660kW HTPEM hydrogen fuel cell propulsion test stand for the PA-890,” Piasecki explains.

In March, Piasecki also reported that it received a small business award from the US Department of Energy to launch the second phase of a hydrogen fuel cell eVOTL study later this year focusing on urban transportation, so stay tuned for more on that.

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Image: A hydrogen fuel cell eVOTL demonstrator from the US firm Joby has achieved a flight of more that 500 miles, emitting only water vapor and no greenhouse gases (courtesy of Joby).