Collaboration to Develop Next Gen Fuel Cell Technologies

On 29 October, ZeroAvia announced that it had signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PowerCell Group to collaborate on next-generation fuel cell technologies.

Joint R&D will focus on intermediate and high-temperature fuel cells, opening up more energy-intensive applications such as large fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft.

The two companies have been working together for the last few years

PowerCell fuel cell stacks form part of the prototype ZeroAvia powertrains that have powered both of ZeroAvia’s breakthrough fuel cell flight demonstrators.

ZeroAvia is designing a bespoke multi-stack balance-of-plant architecture using PowerCell’s low-temperature proton exchange membrane (LT-PEM) stacks, which apply to aviation applications. As such, the Swedish fuel cell manufacturer is a key supplier for ZeroAvia’s first 600kW powertrain (ZA600), designed for up to 20-seat aircraft.

ZeroAvia’s high-temperature PEM fuel cell (HT-PEM) stacks—part of the roadmap to delivery of the ZA2000 powertrain for 40-80 seat aircraft and a key part of the company’s component offering to other clean flight innovators—are already demonstrating industry-record power density above 2.5 kW/kg at the cell level. It has a clear pathway to reaching 3+ kW/kg at the system level in the coming months.

Increasing the operating temperature of fuel cell systems can reduce the cooling and humidification required, simplifying the architecture and improving the amount of power for a given unit of weight.   

The collaboration will leverage PowerCell’s long experience in industrializing hydrogen-electric technologies to push advanced fuel cell solutions to high TRL levels. For ZeroAvia, it will provide the opportunity to exploit its technology in different sectors, while retaining its core focus on aerospace.

Like-minded and collaborative partners

Val Miftakhov, Founder and CEO, of ZeroAvia, said:  “In PowerCell, we have found a like-minded and collaborative partner over the last few years, with a shared passion for advancing hydrogen fuel cell technologies for more power-hungry aircraft.

“Working together we can deliver change in this industry faster, as well as using these extreme use cases to advance the capabilities of solutions for myriad other transport and non-transport sectors.”

Richard Berkling, CEO of PowerCell Group, said: “We’re confident that the first hydrogen-electric aircraft will be flying commercially in the upcoming years. When that happens, it will snowball as the environmental and operating cost benefits become clear to airlines and passengers.

“For PowerCell, this is a key future market, and we are delighted to be deepening our partnership with the leader in this space to develop solutions to enable more clean flights and remove more emissions.”

ZeroAvia has already extensively tested a prototype of its first engine (ZA600) aboard a Dornier 228 aircraft at its UK base and submitted its certification application for the ZA600 at the end of last year.

The company has also performed advanced ground tests in the US and UK for the key building block technologies for the ZA2000 system, including cryogenic tanks or LH2 and proprietary high-temperature PEM fuel cell and electric propulsion systems. ZA2000 will support up to 80-seat regional turboprop aircraft such as the ATR72 or the Dash 8 400.