Gloucestershire-based ZeroAvia reveals manufacturing plans

Published by

Nicky Godding

Image: ZeroAvia

ZeroAvia, the Gloucestershire-based hydrogen engine firm has revealed it will offer some key components designed for its hydrogen-electric engines to other clean aviation innovators. The move allows ZeroAvia to build upon the multi-billion dollar per annum market for its hydrogen-electric powertrain family.

With the certification work for the ZA600 engine for up to 20 seat aircraft underway, and the underpinning technology for the ZA2000 engine for up to 90 seat aircraft in advanced development, ZeroAvia sees significant opportunity in the following areas:

Advanced electric motors for aviation, including a 660 kW max-power direct-drive motor capable of speeds up to 2,200 rpm, and the HyperCore 900kW modular motor capable of speeds up to 20,000 rpm.
Silicon carbide inverters – The 200kW continuous power bidirectional inverter design offers a power density above 20 kW/kg and is available in single (225kW peak / 200kW continuous) and dual (450kW peak / 400kW continuous) configurations. The inverters are designed and produced following aerospace standards, allowing a high-power density and reduced weight with advanced thermal management technologies and integration to enable reliable high performance for high altitude and engine compartment location.
Low temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (LT-PEM) fuel cell configurations (in partnership with PowerCell) – ZeroAvia’s SuperStack Flex architecture is a customizable 100-400kW fuel cell power generation platform designed to meet a range of different aerospace power, performance, and packaging requirements, while maintaining exceptional pressure, mass flow rate, humidity, and temperature control.
High temperature PEM (HT-PEM) fuel cell stacks and full power generation systems – ZeroAvia’s High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane (HTPEM) fuel cell stack is a turbo-air cooled modular system which offers up to 3.5 kW/kg specific power, supporting a variety of traditional aviation and VTOL applications.
Aviation fuel cell compressor is a leading-edge compressor capable of supporting up to 900kW fuel cell applications up to 15,000 feet. The compressor is designed specifically for fuel cell applications and designed for aerospace standards from the start.

The company is in active discussions on potential deals with a number of companies working on electric and hydrogen aviation innovations.

Val Miftakhow, founder and CEO at ZeroAvia, said: "We intend to secure as much market share for commercial aviation propulsion systems as possible as this will enhance shareholder value and ensure we deliver in tackling climate impact in the sector. While the market for our powertrains is thousands of engines across commercial aircraft, there will be other applications that are not strategically aligned with our full engine offering, but where our technologies can play a major role in the supply chain for other OEMs."

Last year Kemble-based ZeroAvia made aviation history, flying the largest aircraft in the world to be powered by a hydrogen-electric engine.

The leader in zero-emission aviation took to the skies for the maiden flight of its 19-seat Dornier 228 testbed aircraft, retrofitted with a full-size prototype hydrogen-electric powertrain on the left wing of the aircraft.

The flight took place from the company’s R&D facility at Cotswold Airport at Kemble, Gloucestershire and lasted 10 minutes.

The aircraft completed taxi, take-off, a full pattern circuit, and landing.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.