A hydrogen-electric midsize business jet could enter service around 2030 if Beyond Aero can implement the plans it unveiled at the Paris Airshow on Monday. The French start-up said the new BYA-I aircraft will carry four passengers on trips of just above 800 nm at speeds of 310 ktas.
Over the past 18 months, Beyond Aero has built and tested an 85-kW subscale technology demonstrator of its hydrogen fuel cell-based powertrain. The Toulouse-based team will now start work on the 1-MW class propulsion system that will include a pair of electric-powered ducted fans on the rear of the fuselage.
Initially, the BYA-I will run on gaseous hydrogen loaded in tanks installed below the cabin. However, Beyond Aero already plans to switch to liquid hydrogen at a later date. Company founder and CEO Eloa Guillotin told AIN that, for now, it bills the jet as a reduced-carbon aircraft because supplies of completely green hydrogen cannot be assured worldwide. She said that pink hydrogen, produced from nuclear power, would present a desirable fuel source for aviation.
On Wednesday, Beyond Aero will announce strategic partnerships for fuel supply with airports in France and several other European countries. Later, the company, which is a member of the Alliance for Zero Emission Aviation, aims to establish similar arrangements with airports in the U.S. The BYA-I would be capable of operating from 2,800-foot runways.
The BYA-I design features a half-moon-shaped air inlet to the rear of the fuselage that will cool the powertrain. That feature represents one of two patents held by Beyond Aero, with the other being the concept for placing the fuel tanks in a fairing under the fuselage to avoid compromising space in the cabin, which can seat up to eight passengers. The company aims to certify the aircraft under EASA’s existing CS-23 rules.
Beyond Aero, which was founded in December 2020 and has so far raised around $10 million, will now look to attract further investments. It is part of the Y Combinator start-up accelerator and has received backing from the France 2030 government fund and the Ami-Maele program of the country’s Occitanie region.
The company said it has signed letters of intent covering possible orders for 72 of the new aircraft, collectively valued at $580 million (implying a base price of $8.1 million). It has declined to identify the prospective customers, indicating that they might include existing business aircraft operators looking to decarbonize their fleets.
The availability of a hydrogen-powered business jet could prove a significant step in countering negative attention on private aviation from activists who have identified it as a primary cause of environmental damage. At the EBACE business aviation trade show in May, protestors from several groups broke into the static display, locking themselves to aircraft and causing some damage.