American Airlines has conditionally agreed to buy 100 hydrogen-electric engines for its regional jet aircraft fleet from ZeroAvia.
The announcement of American Airlines’ funding and conditional purchase comes shortly after it was revealed competitor hydrogen aviation company Universal Hydrogen had gone into liquidation.
ZeroAvia is developing two hydrogen engines – the ZA600, which is suitable for up to 20-seat aircraft, and the ZA2000 for larger aircraft of up to 90 seats.
The ZA2000 is currently in the design stage but would be suitable for use in aircraft such as the Bombardier CRJ700, which American Airlines operates on regional routes.
ZeroAvia agreed to integrate and certificate the ZA2000 engine onto the Bombardier CRJ series of aircraft in a partnership with Mitsubishi-owned aircraft service and maintenance company MHIRJ in 2022. It said at the time that the first engines would be flying by the late 2020s.
In addition, ZeroAvia has an agreement similar to the American Airlines one with Alaska Airlines which was made in 2022, to retrofit 50 hydrogen-electric propulsion systems on the DHC 8-400s (Q400).
As well as the conditional purchase, American Airlines has increased its investment in ZeroAvia via a recent funding round. It originally invested in ZeroAvia in 2022, when the companies also signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
American Airlines is renewing its fleet to improve fuel efficiency and help meet the target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions from aviation by 2050.
American Airline’s CEO Robert Isom 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.”
ZeroAvia founder and CEO Val Miftakhov said, “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.
ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engines use hydrogen in fuel cells to generate electricity, which is then used to power electric motors to turn the aircraft’s propellers. The only inflight emission would be water vapor.
Prototype flight testing and certification work for the lower-power ZA600 is underway. ZeroAvia flew a test flight using a Dornier 228 testbed aircraft equipped with a prototype ZA600 in January 2023.
