Universal Hydrogen's 'iron bird' rig in Hawthorne, California, tests the architecture of the company's hydrogen-fuel-cell-based powertrain in preparation for first flight in a De Havilland Dash 8-300. (Photo: Universal Hydrogen)
Universal Hydrogen plans to fly the first-ever hydrogen-powered
regional airliner by the end of this year using a hydrogen-fuel-cell-based
powertrain housed completely in one of the nacelles of a De Havilland Dash
8-300 turboprop. Now in the late stages of testing the powertrain
architecture in an iron bird test rig at its facility in Hawthorne,
California, Universal Hydrogen has partnered with Aerotec to perform the engine
integration and fly the aircraft out of Moses Lake, Washington.
Universal Hydrogen chief commercial officer Rod Williams
told AIN that the company developed its own flight control
software for the iron bird testing and will install the same powertrain
architecture in the Dash 8. He called the decision to house the entire
1-megawatt powertrain, including the fuel cell, in the nacelle “critical” for
the airplane’s commercial viability.
Williams explained that the company chose that path for the test
aircraft because putting the fuel cell in the fuselage would have compromised
seat count and failed to produce “real learning” about how to meet its goal of
containing the powertrain in a nacelle.
“We’re not doing this the easy way,” he quipped. “So we took the engine
out of the aircraft some time ago; we’ve received all of the parts from the
suppliers, and now we are literally just rebuilding the powertrain in the empty
engine nacelle.” Major suppliers include MagniX, which provides the electric
motors for the powertrain, and Plug Power, which supplies the hydrogen fuel
cells.
Universal Hydrogen has also begun work on an ATR 72 in Toulouse,
France, where, Williams said, the company plans to integrate virtually the
same powertrain design into the Franco-Italian turboprop, giving it the same
roughly 500 nm range the modified Dash 8 will feature. Universal uses the ATR
to perform engineering development and test what the company calls its
"modular logistics technology."
The company’s modular capsules store hydrogen during transit and serve
as fuel tanks that load directly onto the aircraft. The modular fueling concept
avoids the need for expensive and time-consuming development of hydrogen
fueling infrastructure at airports, allowing for the transport and handling of
hydrogen using the existing intermodal freight network and cargo handling
equipment.
“By turning hydrogen into cargo, we are creating a capital-light
hydrogen distribution infrastructure based on the existing global, intermodal,
containerized freight network,” said Williams. “The modules are loaded onto the
aircraft, they're latched down, and then they basically serve as the fuel tank
within the aircraft to supply the fuel to the powertrain…So when you land at your
destination, you take the modules off and you ship them back to the production
site, and you refill them with hydrogen, and then you deliver it back to the
same or a different airport to basically refuel the next aircraft.”
Development and testing schedules call for receipt of supplemental type
certification first for the ATR, in 2025, said Williams, who explained
that market demand drove the decision to pursue certification for that model
ahead of the Dash 8. In June Universal Hydrogen said it drew a firm order from
prospective Massachusetts-based regional carrier Connect Airlines to covert 75
ATR 72-600 regional turboprops to hydrogen power. Connect Airlines plans to
start operations with De Havilland Dash 8-400s from points between the
Northeast and Midwest U.S. cities and Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport.
Although Connect Airlines will need to acquire the ATRs for
conversion, Williams stressed that Universal will work with the airline to help
source the airplanes.
Meanwhile, Universal Hydrogen continues preparations for a new
manufacturing and distribution center for its hydrogen propulsion systems in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. In March the company signed an agreement with New
Mexico’s governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, to develop the facility on a 50-acre
greenfield site at the city’s main airport. Universal said it will invest $254
million in the facility, where it plans to start production in 2024 and hire
500 employees over the next seven years. Universal now employs about 100
people.
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