Developer will conduct research in France and the UK into fuelling and operational requirements of fuel cell-powered business jet.
Fuel cell-powered business jet developer Beyond Aero is to embark on a pair of projects in France and the UK to assess the infrastructure and operational requirements for hydrogen aircraft.
Beyond is developing the BYA-1, a six- to eight-passenger business jet powered by fuel cells running on gaseous hydrogen, which it expects to enter service in the early 2030s.
To pave the way for its introduction, the Toulouse-based airframer is analysing the infrastructure requirements needed for a hydrogen-fuelled aircraft.
In France, Beyond continues to collaborate with Aeroports de la Cote d’Azur, which operates airports in Nice, Cannes and Saint-Tropez.
Under their collaboration, the partners will assess hydrogen supply, storage, distribution and refuelling requirements across the three airports, with Cannes the first under consideration owing to its volume of business aviation flights.
“Its configuration also makes it possible to assess how hydrogen infrastructure could be integrated into a high-activity airport environment,” Beyond states.
Work to be conducted by the pair includes defining the required storage capacity, identifying suitable locations for storage and refuelling, developing operational concepts, plus analysing the cost of different infrastructure solutions, it says.
Other factors including technical, operational, regulatory and economic integration will also be studied.
“With Aeroports de la Cote d’Azur, we are working from practical scenarios tailored to business aviation volumes and based on available technologies,” says Eloa Guillotin, co-founder and chief executive of Beyond Aero.
“This phased approach is essential to enable safe, viable operations when the first aircraft enter service.”
With the studies to be based around gaseous hydrogen, the partners envisage potential production of the fuel outside of the airport perimeter and transported to an on-site dispensing facility.
Two refuelling solutions are under consideration: a fixed dispenser located near to a dedicated parking area for hydrogen aircraft or a mobile refuelling truck.
Meanwhile, in the UK, a consortium including Beyond, London City Airport and the University of East London has been selected under the third round of the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA’s) Hydrogen Sandbox Challenge.
This project will explore how hydrogen-electric aircraft could affect turnaround operations in a live airport environment.
The CAA has also picked bids from DreamerBoy Technologies and Saxon Air for the third-phase work. These projects are related to on-aircraft cryogenic hydrogen storage and airside hydrogen storage and supply, respectively.
The post Beyond leans on airport partners for hydrogen infrastructure studies first appeared on FlightGlobal.