ZeroAvia Builds World’s First Zero-Emission Aviation Powertrain

It is no hidden fact that aviation carbon emissions are a big contributor to climate change as airplanes often burn greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels. Therefore, ZeroAvia has recently come up with a sustainable solution. The leading innovator in zero-emission aviation has now created the world’s first zero-emission, practical hydrogen-fueled electric powertrain.

With this sustainable powertrain, the company aims at decreasing greenhouse gas emissions while making air travel sustainable. Currently, this powertrain for planes has a seating capacity of 20 for local flights; and for long-distance flights, the powertrain has100 seats.

The new decarbonized aviation solution will cater to various markets worldwide. It will be available for short-haul, 500-mile, and commuter regional flights. These new hydrogen-electric powertrains provide the same performance to the planes as traditional jet-fueled transport. However, there will be zero emissions and almost half of the operational costs.

The company is doing so to reduce the environmental impact of traditional airplanes, which emit harmful elements from NOX emissions and contrails to the release of particulate matter, various substances leading to warming effects. When such emissions happen at high altitudes, airplane emissions impact the environment three to four times more than ground-source emissions.

On the other hand, hydrogen-electric aviation has around 30 times more energy and lower cycling costs compared to lithium-ion batteries. This new technology has various advantages over different decarbonization solutions, making it a great option to scale up eco-friendly aviation to better commercial air travel.

For now, this technology is just for smaller planes. But it does offer a longer range, lower fuel costs, and lower maintenance costs. Therefore, it will not only relieve the environment but also reduce the excessive amount of money spent on fuel and the maintenance of airplanes.

As per ZeroAvia, compressed gas storage and non-toxic hydrogen are highly reliable with no bad consequences in case of failure than conventional fuels. Furthermore, hydrogen is best known for lower radiant heat compared to traditional gasoline. Due to hydrogen’s lightweight (i.e. 14 times lighter than air), it can rapidly dissipate compared to other liquid fuels.

Now the company is aiming to work on the construction of 200+ seat airplanes in the next 20 years. We hope that they successfully create larger and more sustainable airplanes powered by hydrogen that can help us tackle climate change before it’s too late.

Via: Inhabitat