US airline American Airlines has invested in hydrogen-electric engine developer Zeroavia and signed a memorandum of understanding giving it the option to order up to 100 engines from the firm in the future.

American Airlines would use the ZA2000-RJ engines to power regional flights if it were to complete the order. Zeroavia says the engines could enter commercial operational by the late 2020s.

“Our investment in Zeroavia’s emerging hydrogen-electric engine technology has the potential to play a key role in the future of sustainable aviation,” says Derek Kerr, CFO of American Airlines.

“We are excited to contribute to this industry development and look forward to exploring how these engines can support the future of our airline as we build American Airlines to thrive forever.”

“Our investment in Zeroavia’s emerging hydrogen-electric engine technology has the potential to play a key role in the future of sustainable aviation” Kerr, American Airlines

Zeroavia is working to achieve certifications for its propulsion technologies. Its ZA600 engine is designed to power aircraft with up to 19 seats and is planned for certification in 2024. The firm is targeting certification for the larger ZA2000 powertrain in 40-80 seat turboprop aircraft by 2026. The ZA2000RJ powertrain will expand that technology to regional jets as early as the late 2020s.

“Having support from the world’s largest airline is a strong indication of the progress we are making on the development of hydrogen-electric, zero-emission flight,” says Zeroavia CEO Val Miftakhov.

The size of the American Airlines investment was not disclosed, but Zeroavia says it has now raised $150mn in its second round of funding from investors including banking group Barclays, Saudi government-backed future city developer Neom and technology fund AENU. Zeroavia raised $24mn in its first funding round last year.

The firm signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Alaskan regional airline Ravn Alaska earlier this year to supply 30 ZA2000 modular powertrains to be retrofitted into its De Havilland Dash-8 fleet. And it will also jointly develop 5,000 proton-exchange-membrane fuel-cell stacks for use in aviation with Swedish manufacturer Powercell.

In May, Zeroavia signed an MoU with strategic investor Shell to design and collaborate on a commercial-scale, mobile refuelling system at its research and development site in California.

Competing technologies

The aviation sector will employ a range of technologies to decarbonise, according to panellists at an FT Hydrogen Summit earlier this year.

Smaller aircraft are likely to be powered by battery engines, compressed hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells, while the global fleet of larger planes will likely opt for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and—later—liquid hydrogen.

Greater use of SAF and improved aircraft fuel efficiency will be the two most important factors in reducing aviation sector emissions under two scenarios developed by the Mission Possible Partnership.

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Author: Tom Young