Karmactive Team
Rishabh Mosalpuria
American Airlines, a Fort Worth-based airline, has agreed to purchase 100 hydrogen-electric engines from clean aviation company, ZeroAvia. American Airlines plans to use these in their regional jet aircraft. According to the airline, these engines are capable of zero inflight emissions. However, water vapor remains an exception to this claim. Along with this, the airline has also raised its investment in ZeroAvia since their first investment in 2022. They were also present in the company’s $116 million Series C financing round. The memorandum of understanding the companies announced in 2022 is followed in the engine purchase agreement here.
Hydrogen-electric (fuel cell-powered) engines for commercial aircraft hold the potential for close to zero inflight emissions. ZeroAvia is working on such engines. The company stated that they chose hydrogen as the primary fuel because it has the highest energy density among all chemical fuels. It has nearly 3 times and 100 times better energy per kilogram than jet fuel and batteries, respectively. A 20-seat plane is used by the company as a prototype for flight testing. In April, the company completed their 12th and longest test flight of a duration of 35 minutes. Further, they plan on designing an engine for larger aircraft such as the Bombardier CRJ700. Such types of aircraft are operated by American Airlines on certain regional routes. A larger powertrain for 40-to-80-seat aircraft is also a part of ZeroAvia’s ambitious plans, which they are currently working on. They plan on finishing this by 2027. Additionally, experimental certificates to test the engines in three separate testbed aircraft with the FAA and CAA gave a boost to the company’s dreams. They have passed significant flight test milestones.
American Airlines has a goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. With the investment and conditional commitment to purchase novel engine technology, they plan to fulfill this goal. American Airlines now has the youngest mainline fleet of any major U.S. network carrier. This happened as the airline undertook the most extensive fleet renewal effort in the history of commercial aviation. This additionally led to an improvement in their fuel efficiency. The airline continues its efforts in sustainability with leading investments. This includes confirming an offtake agreement with Infinium, a producer of upcoming low-carbon sustainable aviation fuel, and becoming the first user of Graphyte’s innovative and permanent carbon removal process.
Robert Isom, CEO of American Airlines, said, “Advancing the transition of commercial aviation to a low-carbon future requires investments in promising technologies, including alternate forms of propulsion. This announcement will help accelerate the development of technologies needed to power our industry and uphold our commitment to make American a sustainable airline so we can continue to deliver for customers for decades to come.” Val Miftakhov, ZeroAvia founder and CEO, added to that saying, “In signing this purchase agreement and furthering its investment, American is supporting our mission of innovation for clean aircraft propulsion, and it is a good signal that ZeroAvia is delivering on our technology roadmap.”
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ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engines rotate the propellers of the aircraft using the electricity to power the electric motors, which is generated using hydrogen in fuel cells. Low-temperature water vapor remains the sole inflight emission in this process. The added benefit available here is the significant cost savings due to lower-intensity electrical systems. Though ZeroAvia was founded in California, it now has teams in Everett, Washington, and the United Kingdom. The press release said that the company has signed many major engineering partnerships with leading aircraft OEMs. It also stated that a number of leading global airlines have pre-ordered almost 2000 engines from the company. This can generate an estimated revenue of over $10 billion.
Previously in the year, another event took place regarding sustainability. Southwest Airlines Co., a discount airline based in Dallas, launched its subsidiary Southwest Airlines Renewable Ventures. It aims to produce more opportunities for Southwest to obtain scalable and sustainable aviation fuel. Southwest announced that replacing 10% of its total jet fuel consumption with SAF by 2030 is essential in its vision for sustainable aviation fuel. Southwest declared a $30 million investment in a SAF technology company with a patented ethanol-to-SAF technology and the world’s first ethanol-to-SAF commercial plant, LanzaJet Inc. It is a part of the Southwest’s SARV investment portfolio.
The timing of the American Airlines-ZeroAvia tie-up is surprising as it comes just a week after another company seeking hydrogen-powered flights, Universal Hydrogen, shut down. No additional funding after spending initial funding led to its closure. It was aiming to retrofit hydrogen-electric engines to Silver Airway’s aircraft. Though, this is not the only way to zero-emission flight as Airbus is planning to launch ZEROe, a clean-sheet hydrogen-powered aircraft. Airbus aims at 2028 to launch this aircraft program formally. Additionally, Airbus is also working with engine maker CFM International on a new design for a hydrogen engine to be used on their A380s, which could cut emissions by more than 20% and be compatible with sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen. Presently, it looks like hydrogen flight will be limited to the regional sector. However, other options will be explored for longer-haul net zero flights.
