Manufacturer is the first to fly an electric aircraft with liquid hydrogen

H2FLY was the first to fly an electric aircraft that uses liquid hydrogen. With liquid hydrogen, the aircraft can fly twice as far as with hydrogen in gaseous form, or 1,500 kilometers.

The manufacturer and cooperation partner Pipistrel talk about the world’s first manned flight with an electric aircraft that uses liquid hydrogen. The HY4 plane took off several times on Thursday from an airport near the Slovenian city of Maribor. Various tests were carried out during these flights.

HY4 is an aircraft consisting of three parts. In the middle are the propeller, the electric drive and the fuel cell, and on either side of this are the other two parts. The liquid hydrogen tank is in the left part, the pilot is in the right part.

The plane is part of project Heaven, which aims to develop a liquid hydrogen aircraft for two to four occupants. The advantage of liquid hydrogen is that more hydrogen can be transported within the same dimensions, which means it can be flown twice as long, according to Pipistrel: 1,500 instead of 750 kilometers. The disadvantage is that hydrogen under normal pressure only becomes liquid at a temperature of -252.87°C. The aircraft uses ‘cryogenic technology from space travel’ to transport 10 to 25 kg of liquid hydrogen. Together with a 90kW fuel cell system, this should ultimately enable an aircraft to fly for five to eight hours.

The project is led by H2FLY, which, in addition to the Slovenian aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel, collaborates with the German National Aerospace Research Center DLR. The project becomes supported by the European Union. The aim is to demonstrate that liquid hydrogen is suitable for use in commercial flights on mid- to long-range flights.