In a significant development, American Airlines has acquired 100 ZeroAvia hydrogen-powered engines, showcasing its commitment to hydrogen-electric advancements.
These innovative hydrogen-electric engines are designed to fuel regional jet aircraft, emitting only water vapor during flights. ZeroAvia is at the forefront of developing hydrogen-electric engines for commercial planes, promising nearly emission-free flights.
This change to hydrogen-electric engines for American’s regional routes will also have immense cost benefits, eliminating the use of expensive fossil-based jet fuel. This benefit comes in addition to their goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
How does this connect to the industry of combustion engine parts?
Hydrogen engines, which burn hydrogen as fuel instead of gasoline or diesel, are essentially internal combustion engines. Interestingly, one of the earliest internal combustion engines ran on a blend of hydrogen and oxygen.[i]
Hydrogen ICE engines, following a four-stroke cycle like conventional natural gas engines, share nearly identical components such as the engine block, crank, cylinder heads, ignition system, and installation parts.
Rather than phasing out combustion engine components completely, future technology is incorporating them, with initiatives limiting their environment impact. This indicates a promising outlook for the future of combustion engine parts!
An exciting future in Aviation
ZeroAvia has presented its initial powertrain for planes with up to 20 seats for certification by the end of 2025. Additionally, the company is developing a larger power train for aircraft with 40 to 80 seats, set for completion by 2027.
On their website, ZeroAvia states that they are:
“Focused on hydrogen-electric propulsion and fueling solutions to address a variety of markets, initially targeting a 300-mile range in 9–19 seat aircraft by the end of 2025, and up to 700-mile range in 40–80 seat aircraft by 2027.” [i][i][i]
Through strategic engineering collaborations with leading aircraft manufacturers, ZeroAvia has secured numerous partnerships. Furthermore, the company has garnered nearly 2,000 engine pre-orders from major global airlines, showcasing a potential future revenue exceeding $10 billion.
For more information on these topics, visit zeroavia.com, aa.com, and for all your combustion engine component needs, visit enginetechcatalog.com or enginetech.com
Sources:
[i] How do hydrogen engines work? (2022, January 26). Cummins.com. Retrieved August 7, 2024, from https://www.cummins.com/news/2022/01/26/how-do-hydrogen-engines-work
[i][i] mediarelations@aa.com. (2024, July 2). American Airlines commits to conditional purchase of 100 ZeroAvia hydrogen-powered Engines, Increases investment in hydrogen-electric Innovator. American Airlines Newsroom. Retrieved August 7, 2024, from https://news.aa.com/news/news-details/2024/American-Airlines-commits-to-conditional-purchase-of-100-ZeroAvia-hydrogen-powered-engines-increases-investment-in-hydrogen-electric-innovator-CORP-OTH-07/
[i][i][i]ZeroAvia. (2024, June 19). Products – ZeroAvia. https://zeroavia.com/products-services/
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