Universal Hydrogen End-to-End

Dean Sigler Announcements, Electric Powerplants, hydrogen, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

In an “end-to-end” demonstration of its proprietary liquid hydrogen module, Universal Hydrogen Co. has successfully run a megawatt-class fuel cell powertrain.  “End-to-End,” in this case means “[the] demonstration of a hydrogen molecule moving from our filler/dispenser into our storage module and then into our powertrain is the first time that all the pieces of our product portfolio for regional aviation have come together,” said Paul Eremenko, co-founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen. “The next step is to upgrade our flight testbed to fly the powertrain fueled by our modules.” In a simplified interface for a complex process, the liquid hydrogen module “is the core of the company’s fuel services offering for aviation.”  Looking like any other intermodal freight and airport cargo handling equipment, each module contains 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of liquid hydrogen.  Capable of storing it for long periods without boiloff, the module’s internal systems convert the cryogenic H2 into a warm gaseous H2 consumed by the powertrain Designed …

Biggest yet from Universal Hydrogen

Dean Sigler Announcements, Electric Aircraft Components, Electric Powerplants, Fuel Cells, hydrogen, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Universal Hydrogen flew the largest hydrogen-powered aircraft yet at Grant County Airport in Moses Lake, Washington.  The DeHavilland Dash 8 was powered on its right side by a MagniX motor and fueled by H2 from a pair of containers in the rear of the fuselage.  It made a 15 minute flight to 3,500 feet and settled back to a safe landing It carried “the largest hydrogen fuel cell ever to power an aircraft, “and Universal Hydrogen co-founder and CEO Paul Eremenko “declared the moment the dawn of a new golden age of aviation.” Prep for flight Lightning McClean, Universal’s modified Dash 8, normally flies with up to 50 passengers.  The penalty for using H2 for fuel is giving up 10 of those revenue-producing seats, Universal’s Plug Power containers taking up the back rows of the cabin.  Other gear included a rigorous evaluation of every component and system, the Dash 8 was ready for taxiing and test flights. Two large hydrogen …

Universal Hydrogen Certified, Ready to Fly

Dean Sigler Announcements, Electric Powerplants, Fuel Cells, hydrogen, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

On February 7, 2023, Universal Hydrogen received a Special Airworthiness Certificate in the Experimental category from the Federal Aviation Administration.  This will allow their DeHavilland Dash 8-300 to begin test flights.  Universal boasts their craft will be the largest hydrogen fuel cell-powered aircraft ever to fly.  Up to now, it’s been performing taxi tests and motor runups, getting ready for the big day. On a Mission Universal Hydrogen’s web site opens with this statement: “Our mission is to put aviation on a trajectory to meet Paris Agreement emissions targets by making hydrogen-powered commercial flight a near-term reality.”   The coming flight tests are a major step toward fulfillment of that mission. Inclusion of the large hydrogen-carrying modules reduces passenger carrying capacity to 40 seats.  But, the modules allow easy loading and unloading and “eliminate the need for costly new infrastructure, with any airport capable of handling cargo being hydrogen-ready.” Paul Eremenko, co-founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen, explains, “We are simultaneously …

A Dash of Hydrogen

Dean Sigler Electric Aircraft Components, Electric Powerplants, Fuel Cells, Sustainable Aviation 2 Comments

Getting the Parts Free, Charged for Refills What if future flight had a simple “return the old fuel container and get a new one” business model?  Paul Eremenko, founder of California startup Universal Hydrogen, wants to try it out in a Dash 8 airliner equipped with two 2-megawatt motors supplied by MagniX. Poor analogy perhaps, but in his boyhood, your editor had a camera that was sold at the store complete with a roll of film already inside.  All you had to do when you took all your pictures was send it by mail, with a check or money order, and a week later, you got the reloaded camera back with the prints and negatives of your pictures.  This klunky, pre-digital plan carried over from Kodak’s version 100 years before. Today, with digital photography having supplanted those earlier, more tedious processes, we save on postage and wasted photos. Let’s face it – we all like rapid rewards and instant gratification.  …

Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Siemens Team Up on Hybrid Airliner

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Aircraft Components, Electric Powerplants, Hybrid Aircraft, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

As many of your editor’s friends know, he is often lured to trolling the tabloids, looking for juicy bits about the royal family or Hollywood royalty.  Recently, while perusing the Daily Mail* for news of the upcoming Harry/Meaghan nuptials, he came across the big-headline news that three European power players – Rolls-Royce, Airbus, and Siemens, are collaborating on creating a testbed for a hybrid power system. The trio will take a Bae 146 four-engine regional jet, convert it to a hybrid demonstrator by 2020, and have a production plane in place by 2030.  The high-wing airplane has four turbofans in place now, but the partners will replace one with a Siemens two-megawatt electric motor powered by a Rolls-Royce two-megawatt generator in the plane’s cargo hold. The UK paper reports, ”The companies said they were looking ahead to the European Union’s long-term goals of reducing CO2 emissions from aviation by 60 percent, as well as meeting noise and pollution limits that …