ZeroAvia and PowerCell are expanding their joint work on fuel cell technology with a view to meeting higher energy needs of hydrogen-powered fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft. The companies, which have been collaborating since 2022, signed a new memorandum of understanding on October 29, announcing that they will work on next-generation fuel cells for hydrogen-electric powertrains.
Sweden-based PowerCell is already providing fuel cells for the 600-kilowatt ZA600 propulsion system that ZeroAvia is developing for aircraft with up to 20 seats. It submitted a certification application for the ZA600 unit in late 2023.
These low-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells form part of a multi-stack powertrain architecture that ZeroAvia is now scaling up for the 2-megawatt ZA2000 system. This is intended for airliners with between 40 and 80 seats, such as the ATR72 and Dash 8 Series 400.
3kW/kg Power Density Coming Soon
According to ZeroAvia, it has already achieved a power density of above 2.5 kilowatts per kilogram. The company, which has engineering teams in both the U.S. and UK, said it is on track to exceed 3 kW/kg in the next few months.
One key objective is to increase the operating temperature of fuel cells to reduce the amount of cooling and humidification needed. ZeroAvia said this would simplify the required powertrain architecture and improve the amount of power generated for a given unit of weight.
“We’re confident that the first hydrogen-electric aircraft will be flying commercially in the upcoming years,” said PowerCell CEO Richard Berkling. “When that happens, it will have a snowball effect as the environmental and operating cost benefits become clear to airlines and their passengers. For PowerCell, this is a key future market, and we are delighted to be deepening our partnership with the leader in this space to develop solutions to enable more clean flights, removing emissions.”