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Hydrogen is powered by fuel cell electric motors or jet engine Burn H2 directly.Now universal hydrogen is announced Completed a 15-minute test flight in a 40-seat Dash 8 commuter aircraft powered by a fuel cell hydrogen engine. The airline called the flight “historic” and said it was “committed to becoming North America’s first zero-emissions airline.”
Equipped with Plug Power fuel cells and magniX electric motors, this power plant is the largest ever taken to the skies. However, it was only mounted on the left side of the aircraft, with a standard Pratt & Whitney turboprop engine mounted on the right wing for “flight safety”. (produced by electrolysis from a renewable energy source) is supplied to the engine and connected via a unique module that keeps the highly volatile gas in a liquid state for up to 100 hours.
universal hydrogen
Dash-8 was heavily modified to accommodate an engine, 30 kg (66 lb) of liquid hydrogen, and two racks of electronics and sensors. Turbine engines were used primarily for takeoff, but pilots were able to cruise primarily on hydrogen power on the second circuit. The flight reached an altitude of 3,500 feet.
Although there was some yaw due to the power imbalance, “the plane steered beautifully and the noise and vibration from the fuel cell powertrain was significantly lower than a conventional turbine engine,” said the chief pilot (and former U.S. Air Force test pilot) said. ) Alex Kroll.The company received FAA approval for flight just a few weeks ago.
UK-US company ZeroAvia flew a similar configuration in a twin-engine, 19-seat Dornier 228 plane earlier this year.Airbus recently announced that at about 1,150 miles he is building a fuel cell that could power a 100-seat aircraft, while Rolls-Royce recently completion Testing of jet engines modified to run directly on hydrogen fuel.
However, there are still many potential problems. Hydrogen’s energy density is about a quarter of that of regular Jet A fuel, so it’s only suitable for short hops. As detailed by the presenter, hydrogen fuel infrastructure is scarce, cumbersome and very explosive. Still, I’m confident Universal Hydrogen can beat the odds. “Our business model solves the egg-and-egg problem between hydrogen aircraft and hydrogen infrastructure by developing it in parallel with a unique low-cost approach,” said CEO and co-founder author Paul Eremenko said.
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