AMSL Aero has started untethered test flights with its Vertiia eVTOL aircraft as it works to complete type certification in 2027. After logging some 50 tethered flights since 2023, the Australian start-up this week reported that it removed tethers for the first time earlier this month.
The technology demonstrator now being used for test flights operates on battery power, but in 2025 AMSL aims to start flying with a hydrogen-electric propulsion system intended for production aircraft. Flight testing is being conducted with the approval of Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) at a site in the Central West region of New South Wales.
With a hydrogen propulsion system, AMSL intends for the Vertiia to be able to carry a pilot and four passengers on flights of up to 1,000 kilometers (544 nm) at speeds of up to 163 knots. The Sydney-based company said it now holds deposits for 26 orders placed by prospective operators including the Aviation Logistics group, which includes its Air Link, AirMed, and Chartair subsidiaries engaged in services including passenger and freight charter flights, and aeromedical missions across Australia.
“Watching Vertiia take to the sky in free flight was a breathtaking experience for our incredible team of engineers and me,” said Andrew Moore, AMSL’s co-founder and chief engineer. “This landmark is proof that the design we pioneered seven years ago works, and it moves us closer to our goal of improving the lives of remote, rural, and regional communities in Australia and around the world with an aircraft that conquers the tyranny of distance with zero emissions.”
Work Starts on Hydrogen-powered Prototype
AMSL said it will now expand the Vertiia’s flight test program as it introduces more capable flight control algorithms. It is also developing systems for its next prototype aircraft.
The aircraft’s hydrogen propulsion system uses fuel cells provided by a specialist based in Sweden. Fuel tanks have been developed by a partner in New Zealand, with the batteries coming from Taiwan, and the motor inverters were supplied by a company in Sydney. The liquid hydrogen fuel will be stored in “pod” tanks around the Vertiia’s wing tips.
To date, AMSL has raised more than $55 million AUD ($36 million USD) in funding from various undisclosed investors, and said it is open to working with “aligned organizations.” The company applied for type certification more than a year ago and said it has agreed on many of the key requirements for this approval with CASA, including the use of a hydrogen-hybrid propulsion system.