Carbon-free flights promised 'within two years'

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🗞️ Driving the news: ZeroAvia, an aviation company, is developing a hydrogen-electric engine that produces no carbon emissions, aiming to deploy it for commercial flights by 2025
• The firm has successfully executed nine test flights at Cotswold Airport near Cirencester, England

🔭 The context: ZeroAvia is retrofitting a Dornier 228 aircraft, a traditional 19-seater plane that uses two propellers typically powered by kerosene: one of these has been replaced by ZeroAvia's electric engine, which generates electricity onboard using a hydrogen fuel cell

🌎 Why does it matter for the planet: With water being the only byproduct of hydrogen-electric engine, the development and implementation of such an engine can contribute significantly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the aviation sector, leading it to zero carbon emissions

⏭️ What's next: ZeroAvia is working with the Civil Aviation Authority to pass safety tests and receive certification for the new engine
• By 2027, the company aims to create a larger hydrogen-electric engine to power bigger aircraft that can carry around 50 passengers and travel up to 1,000 km

💬 One quote: "We can throttle right back on the conventional engine and fly purely on the hydrogen electric system, it generates enough thrust to fly the aircraft level. It really is amazing how well it works." (Jon Killerby, Test Pilot)

📈 One stat: ZeroAvia already has orders for more than 1,500 of its first engine

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