Airlines are huge emitters of carbon. But could hydrogen powered aircrafts change that?
What’s happening:
- Hollister, California based zero emission aviation company ZeroAvia has raised $116M USD in a Series C financing round
- The new round includes notable venture funds such as Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Horizon Ventures, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and others
The big idea:
- ZeroAvia has developed a first of its kind hydrogen electric engine that can power an aircraft without producing any emissions
Why it matters:
- Airline companies are under immense pressure to decarbonize, which has led to a flurry of startups working on everything from electric powered airplanes to sustainable jet fuel
Going deeper:
- While batteries are possible to electrify automotive transportation, their energy to weight ratio make them impractical to power large commercial aircrafts
- Hydrogen fuel tanks are crash resistant and are already considered to be safer than traditional liquid fuel tanks that are used by many airline companies
- Airline giants Airbus and Alaska Airlines are two early backers of ZeroAvia
The intrigue:
- ZeroAvia recently partnered with Japan Airlines to begin testing hydrogen powered flights on regional routes within Japan
By the numbers:
- Hydrogen has 100x more energy density than the best electric batteries currently available
- ZeroAvia has more than 2000 initial pre orders for their hydrogen powered electric engines from airline companies
- Those pre orders represent a cumulative $10B USD in potential future revenue
