Alaska Airlines Is Slated To Fly Hydrogen-Fueled Commercial Planes By 2024
Image via Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is teaming up with British-American aviation firm ZeroAvia to develop what could be the world’s largest zero-emissions passenger aircraft.
According to a report by New Atlas, it appears the hydrogen-fueled plane will boast 76 seats, with its maiden flight planned for sometime in 2023. In addition, talks are ongoing for its first commercial trip between London and Rotterdam in 2024, which would be a seminal milestone in eco-conscious aviation.
While this hydrogen aircraft won’t be ZeroAvia’s first, it’ll be its largest project to date. Robb Report posited that the plane will be based on a De Havilland Q400 turboprop, which will then be fitted with the company’s special eco-friendly powertrain. It’s expected to be able to serve up between 2,000 kW and 5,000 kW of power.
Engineers anticipate the airplane will be able to travel a distance of up to 500 miles, which would be sufficient to cover many short-range flight routes. While long-range trips are still out of the question, the project could very well begin a revolution to decarbonize aviation.
“The aviation industry is one of the hardest industries to decarbonize; however, with this collaboration, we are one step closer to achieving our goal of making our skies emission-free,” said ZeroAvia’s founder Val Miftakhov in a statement.
With electric aircraft still in the early stages of development, hydrogen-powered planes could be the exciting first step towards eco-friendly air travel.
[via New Atlas and Robb Report, cover image via Alaska Airlines]
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