Inspenet, March 9, 2023
Universal Hydrogen, a leader in the emerging hydrogen flight space, has completed the first flight of its hydrogen electric demonstrator.
The aircraft, a modified de Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 turboprop powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, took off from Moses Lake Airport in Washington for a 15-minute flight, during which it reached a maximum altitude of 3,500 feet.
Universal Hydrogen, a startup headed by Paul Eremenko, announced the feat of the first flight of its hydrogen electric demonstrator, according to information from Aerotime.
On the flight, one of the aircraft’s two propellers was powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, which used this liquid element as fuel; while the other engine ran on conventional jet fuel.
This is the first test flight of the world’s largest hydrogen fuel cell airliner, powered by green hydrogen.
The Dash 8-300, with 40 seats, was equipped with a liquid hydrogen tank, occupying part of the available space in the cabin, through which a fuel cell was fed. During the flight, the pilots reduced the power of the conventional Pratt & Whitney engine, so that the plane did part of the cruise stage almost entirely with hydrogen electric propulsion.
This is not only Universal Hydrogen’s first flight, but also the largest hydrogen-electric aircraft it has flown to date, surpassing the previous record holder, ZeroAvia’s hybrid-electric Do228, which made its maiden flight in January. It is also the second largest aircraft to fly on hydrogen, after an experiment conducted by the Soviet Union in the 1980s with a Tupolev Tu-155 aircraft.
Source and Photo : https://a21.com.mx/innovacion/2023/03/06/completa-universal-hydrogen-vuelo-con-hidrogeno-liquido
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