Universal Hydrogen has run a megawatt-class fuel cell powertrain using liquid hydrogen during ground testing for the first time.
Engineers at the hydrogen aviation and fuel infrastructure company used its proprietary liquid hydrogen module to supply the fuel to an “iron bird” ground test rig for over 1 hour and 40 minutes, simulating a regional aircraft flight profile.
The iron bird is a functional analog of the powertrain that Universal Hydrogen has been flight testing since March 2023.
The company’s liquid hydrogen module holds enough fuel to power the iron bird for over three hours at full power, with two such modules sufficient for 575 miles (925km) for an ATR72 regional airliner.
Universal Hydrogen plans for its hydrogen powertrain to enter into passenger service in 2026 on retrofitted ATR 72 regional aircraft.
Mark Cousin, Universal Hydrogen’s president and chief technology officer said, “This is the largest fuel cell powertrain ever to run on liquid hydrogen making it another in a series of firsts for Universal Hydrogen.”
This test was conducted at the Mojave Air & Space Port and was also the first time the company’s module and powertrain have been tested integrated together.
Paul Eremenko, co-founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen said, “This end-to-end demonstration of a hydrogen molecule moving from our filler/dispenser into our storage module and then into our powertrain is the first time that all the pieces of our product portfolio for regional aviation have come together.
“The next step is to upgrade our flight testbed to fly the powertrain fueled by our modules.”
Developed at Universal Hydrogen’s engineering and design center in Toulouse, France, the module holds 200kg of cryogenic hydrogen in a simple container with an interface compatible with existing intermodal freight and airport cargo handling equipment. It is capable of storing it for long durations without boiloff and contains systems to convert cryogenic liquid hydrogen into warm gaseous hydrogen that is consumed by the powertrain.
The module also incorporates features such as hydrogen leak detection and venting systems for safe operations, as well as a leak-proof quick-connect for easy installation and removal of the module from the aircraft.
The 1MW demonstration comes after Universal Hydrogen recent demonstration of a hydrogen-powered charger for airport ground support equipment.
