Conscious Aerospace is launching a Series A funding round to advance its plans to convert regional airliners to use its hydrogen-electric propulsion system. Initially, the Dutch start-up’s main focus is on de Havilland Canada’s Dash 8-300 twin turboprop, and it is aiming to have aircraft ready to enter service with early adopter operators by the end of the decade.
This month, new private investors are being asked to provide €15 million (close to $18 million) needed to take the company up to the start of the iron bird test campaign by the end of 2027. Rotterdam-based Conscious is part of a consortium that in June received €73 million from the Dutch government’s Luchtvaart in Transitie green aviation fund, with €42 million from this total going to partners including Aeronamic, Elysian, EH Group, Magna, Senior, Sii, AeroDelft, NLR, and the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft).
Over the next four years, the partners are aiming to secure a supplemental type certificate from EASA to integrate their Hydrogen Aircraft Propulsion Systems and Storage equipment with Dash 8 aircraft. In addition to the electric propulsion unit, the powertrain also includes fuel cells, power and thermal management units, and liquid hydrogen fuel tanks. Last year, EASA signed an Innovation Partnership Contract under which it will provide guidance to Conscious on the means of compliance process.
After conducting initial design work with de Havilland over the past two years, the Conscious team believes the converted aircraft will be able to support at least 90% of current Dash 8 routes. Under today’s EASA and FAA requirements, the hydrogen-powered version would be able to carry 28 or 29 passengers with a range of 750 kilometers (about 405 nautical miles).
Early Regional Air Service Use Cases
Conscious expects early use cases for the aircraft to be with existing Dash 8 operators in markets such as Norway, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, where essential regional air services benefit from government support. In June, Dutch airlines KLM and Transavia signed a memorandum of understanding through which they will contribute to the design process and contribute data such as operating costs to build the business case for the conversion plan.
According to Conscious’s CEO, Erik Geertsema, the partners will accelerate the joint definition phase over the next six months. Then work will begin to produce a sub-scale technology demonstrator as they gradually increase the power rating for the propulsion system towards 2 megawatts.
“The first step is to create the legislation [for hydrogen propulsion in aviation], build the infrastructure, and get passengers used to boarding these aircraft,” he told AIN. “Our business case does not call for hundreds of conversions; we can make a slow start with just a few regional airlines and airports.”
The company estimates that typical Dash 8 regional flights will use around 200 kilograms of liquid hydrogen. It said that most existing hydrogen tanks at airports can hold about 3,500 kilograms.
On September 3, Conscious announced the appointment of Rudolf Coertze as its chief technology officer. He has more than 20 years of aerospace experience with companies including another hydrogen propulsion pioneer, ZeroAvia. The company has also recruited recent graduates from TU Delft, including several with experience from the school’s own work on electrified aviation projects.