Revolutionary New Air Travel Technology: British Aerospace Group Needs £30 Million!

A British aerospace specialist aims to raise £30m this year as part of ambitious plans to develop a hydrogen-powered electric aircraft ready for launch as early as 2026.

Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, originally spun off from Cranfield University and whose backers include the venture arm of French aerospace group Safran and UK-listed fund HydrogenOne Capital Growth, said it was in talks with more than a dozen new investors. The fundraising money, which follows an earlier round last year, would be used to develop a flying demonstration aircraft and do preliminary work on the final product, according to the company.

“It will give us runway until the end of 2024,” said chief executive Paul Hutton.

THE aviation industry is working on a number of new fuel technologies, including the use of sustainable aviation fuels and “green” hydrogen produced from water using renewable electricity, as part of efforts to reduce its carbon emissions.

Airbus in Europe plans to use an A380 superjumbo to test hydrogen-powered jet engines as part of a plan to put a zero-emissions aircraft into service by 2035.

But there are differing opinions in the industry as to how fast power of hydrogen can be implemented, given the technical challenges involved. There are also concerns about the availability of sufficient green hydrogen.

Hutton believes hydrogen-powered aviation using fuel cell technology isn’t far off. Cranfield is among the few companies pursuing plans deploy this technology on regional or sub-regional aircraft.

Cranfield, which has decades of experience modifying and designing aircraft for companies including Airbus and Rolls-Royce, announced plans to merge with British aircraft maker Britten-Norman in April. The two companies had previously collaborated on a UK government-backed project to upgrade a nine-seat Britten-Norman Islander aircraft with Cranfield’s hydrogen fuel cell engine.

The merger would allow the companies to expedite those plans, Hutton said, and would increase the likelihood of the modified aircraft getting certified by aviation regulators within the promised timeframe.

“It’s about credibility and the ability to deliver and sell the product – a zero-emission aircraft,” he added.

JJ Traynor, managing partner at HydrogenOne, said that with the merger Cranfield now had the “tools to get certified for hydrogen flight with the original equipment manufacturer”.

“So there could be a commercially available aircraft in 2026/7,” he added.

Cranfield is pursuing a four phase development plan, with the ultimate ambition to design and produce a brand new regional aircraft. The first phase involves retrofitting the nine-seat aircraft with the fuel cell engine running on hydrogen gas. This will be followed by the modification of an existing 19-seat aircraft with a liquid hydrogen fuel cell-based system.

Ultimately, Cranfield wants to design a larger regional aircraft with up to a hundred seats.

Hutton believes hydrogen could support market growth for smaller sub-regional aircraft in particular, especially as pressures mount to cut emissions. He is optimistic about concerns about the cost of producing green hydrogen, arguing that it would become “cost-competitive” as production volumes increase and governments invest in alternatives to fossil fuels.

Skeptics, however, argue that today’s sustainable aviation fuels – made from vegetable fats and oils or synthetically produced – offer a much more practical solution to reduce emissions, given the huge infrastructure investments needed to convert hydrogen power. actually.

“All in all, hydrogen offers little hope of significantly reducing aviation’s built-in carbon dioxide by 2050,” said Alan Epstein, a former industry executive and professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Aside from the best airplanes, the only approach that has a chance of a significant contribution is [sustainable aviation fuel].”

For Hutton, the success could have wider ramifications for the UK: if all of Cranfield’s plans come to fruition, it would be the first company in more than four decades to develop a new commercial aircraft in Britain.

The industry, Hutton said, has largely evolved into a “supply chain industry” serving big manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing. The UK now has a chance to get back to designing and manufacturing aircraft as aerospace went from “evolutionary change to revolutionary change” with the advent of new technologies, he added.