Beyond Aero develops hydrogen-powered regional aircraft
Aviation in Europe should be climate-neutral by 2050. The French company Beyond Aero is developing an emission-free aircraft.
BYA-1 electric regional aircraft
(Image: Beyond Aero)
Flying with hydrogen: French aviation company Beyond Aero is developing an aircraft that flies electrically and is powered by fuel cells. It should be in regular use by 2030.
Beyond Aero presented the BYA-1 2023 at the Paris Air Show. The aviation company has revised the concept once again and presented the final design.
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BYA-1 is a ten-seater regional aircraft powered by two electric ducted propellers at the rear. These are supplied with power by six fuel cells. Each of these cells has a maximum output of 400 kilowatts, so that a peak output of 2.4 megawatts is available. There are no batteries to store electricity temporarily.
Hydrogen is used as the fuel for the fuel cells. This is stored in six tanks. The total storage capacity is 250 kilograms. This should enable the aircraft to travel almost 1,500 kilometers at a cruising speed of 575 km/h and an altitude of 26,000 feet (a good 7,900 meters), including a sufficient safety reserve. This means that the aircraft can be used on around 80 percent of intra-European routes, Beyond Aero announced.
Tanks at the wingtips
Four of the hydrogen tanks are to be installed on both sides under the fuselage. The other two will be located at the wingtips. The hydrogen will be stored at a pressure of 700 bar. A refueling process should take 30 to 40 minutes.
Unlike a conventional engine, the aircraft will not emit any pollutants, only water vapor. The costs also speak in favor of the alternative fuel: according to Beyond Aero, hydrogen is significantly cheaper than sustainable aviation fuel (SAF): green hydrogen is said to cost 40 cents per nautical mile per seat. Bio-kerosene costs 1.70 euros, synthetically produced kerosene even 2.60 euros. According to this calculation, only conventional kerosene (Jet A-1), which costs 30 cents per nautical mile per seat, is cheaper than hydrogen.
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Beyond Aero installed the fuel cell powertrain in a conventional aircraft last year and tested it successfully. The BYA-1 should be certified and ready for use by 2030. According to the company, it has received letters of intent for the purchase of around 100 aircraft.
(wpl)
