UK's British Airways invests $24.3 million in hydrogen aviation startup ZeroAvia

London, April 1 - Neftegaz.RU. British Airways announced that it will invest in ZeroAvia, the UK startup developing hydrogen engines for aircraft.
Last autumn Airbus also unveiled 3 concept aircraft powered by hydrogen, saying these could be ready to enter commercial service by 2035.

British Airways CEO Sean Doyle said:

• Innovative zero emissions technology is advancing fast and we support the development of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source because we believe it has the potential to enable us to reach true zero emissions on short-haul routes by 2050
• There is a huge amount of energy and excitement building around the possibilities of a zero emissions future for aviation and while there is no single solution to this challenge, we acknowledge the need for urgent action to tackle the impact flying currently has on our planet and are making progress on our journey to net zero

ZeroAvia, which last September completed the world's 1^st hydrogen-electric test flight of a commercial-grade aircraft, claims it could achieve commercialisation for its hydrogen-electric technology as soon as 2024, with flights of up to 500 miles in a 20-seater aircraft.

And, with the new investment announced on March 31, the firm said it expected to begin operating zero emissions commercial aircraft carrying 50 or more passengers in 5 years' time, as part of its aim to deliver its 1^st 100-seater, single-aisle plane by 2030.

Val Miftakhov, CEO of ZeroAvia said:

• With the airline industry lining up and ready to shift to zero-emissions, we expect to see wide-scale adoption of this technology
• We are extremely grateful to British Airways and our other investors, who are helping speed up our progress and ultimately the aviation industry's adoption of zero-emission flight

British Airways said its investment in ZeroAvia would support the airline's commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, alongside its efforts to scale up the use of sustainable aviation fuels, develop more fuel-efficient aircraft, and explore the use of carbon capture technologies.