German aerospace company H2FLY has set a new world altitude record by flying its hydrogen-powered, four-seater HY4 passenger plane to a height of 2,134m.
The flight was made on April 12, they said in company.
The HY4 successfully took off and flew at an altitude of 2.2 kilometers, flying 124 kilometers from Stuttgart Airport to Friedrichshafen.
As noted in H2FLY, this is a world record for an aircraft powered by hydrogen.
Hydrogen aircraft HY4
The electric hydrogen apparatus was built on the basis of the existing vessel Pipistrel Taurus G4. The model adopted the unusual design of the Pipistrel with a double fuselage from the Pipistrel, but it was completely redone in terms of internal components. While the Pipistrel Taurus G4 was originally designed as an all-electric aircraft, the HY4 is a hybrid solution powered by an electric motor along with fuel cells. Engineers from the Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics DLR and Hydrogenics were responsible for their development.
To reduce aircraft weight, H2FLY designed a platform that stores hydrogen at pressures below 5,800 psi in two carbon composite tanks, one in each fuselage. They power the fuel cell, while lithium-ion batteries boost the performance of the 80kW electric motor at peak times.
The maximum speed of the aircraft is 145 km/h. It is capable of covering up to 1.5 thousand km with a minimum payload and optimal flight conditions.
H2FLY has no plans to commercialize a four-seater hydrogen aircraft. The company is using HY4 to build a platform to develop a larger fuel cell liner. H2FLY's main goal is to create a 40-seat hydrogen-electric Dornier 328. If the company meets the planned development schedule, this device will be presented to the public in 2025.
Before EcoPolitics reported that Universal Hydrogen, which was founded by Ukrainian Pavel Eremenko, would build hydrogen engines for aircraft regional message.
