jueves, 9 de febrero de 2023
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Universal Hydrogen Announces Strategic Agreement with Air New Zealand to Deliver True Zero Emission Solution for Regional Aviation
"As the second-largest turboprop operator in the world, Air New Zealand is a trendsetter for the industry"
Air New Zealand's Chief Sustainability Officer Kiri Hannifin says the airline has bold sustainability goals that won't be met by a 'business as usual' approach. "Mission Next Gen Aircraft aims to accelerate the technology and infrastructure needed to decarbonize our domestic flights, by joining forces with the world's leading aircraft developers, innovators, and infrastructure providers. We want to be a leader in the roll out of zero emissions aircraft in New Zealand. Having Universal Hydrogen as one of our long-term partners will grow our collective understanding of zero emissions aircraft technology as it develops and will give them the confidence they are developing a product that's well-suited for our fleet."
Universal Hydrogen is developing a solution to convert existing regional airplanes to fly on hydrogen and to supply hydrogen to the fleet using a modular fueling approach, which eliminates the need for new airport infrastructure, speeds up the fueling operation, and reduces transfer losses throughout the hydrogen delivery chain. On completion of testing and certification, Universal Hydrogen's conversion kits could be installed in Air New Zealand's regional fleet.
"As the second-largest turboprop operator in the world, Air New Zealand is a trendsetter for the industry," said Paul Eremenko, co-founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen. "We fully expect other airlines to follow in Air New Zealand's footsteps toward a true zero emissions solution for their fleets. We're thrilled to be selected alongside Air New Zealand's other long-term partners—Airbus, ATR, Embraer, and Heart Aerospace—to quickly address aviation's contributions to the climate crisis."
Universal Hydrogen Completes First Taxi Tests and Is Granted Experimental Airworthiness Certificate by the Federal Aviation Administration
"Today's milestones are essential, important steps to putting the industry on a trajectory to meet Paris Agreement obligations. The only alternative is curtailing aviation traffic growth to curb emissions."
The Dash 8-300 flying testbed has a megawatt-class hydrogen fuel cell powertrain installed in one of its nacelles. The powertrain is in a configuration that closely resembles the company's first product—a conversion kit for ATR 72-600 regional airliners—which is expected to be certified and in commercial passenger service starting in 2025. Notably, Universal Hydrogen's powertrain does not utilize a hybrid battery architecture—a major innovation—with all of the power transmitted directly from the fuel cells to the electric motor, significantly decreasing weight and lifecycle cost.
The FAA approval clears the way for the first flight of the Dash 8-300 flying testbed which will take place at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington. The aircraft will be by far the largest hydrogen fuel cell-powered airplane to take to the skies, and second as a hydrogen-powered aircraft only to the Soviet flight test in 1988 of a Tupolev Tu-155 airliner with one of its jet engines converted to burn hydrogen.
Universal Hydrogen unveiled in December 2022 first operational tests of its modular hydrogen delivery system at its engineering center in Toulouse, France. Those tests demonstrated a pragmatic, near-term, and highly scalable approach to hydrogen delivery to airports and into the aircraft using a modular capsule technology. This eliminates the need for costly new infrastructure, with any airport capable of handling cargo being hydrogen-ready. It also eliminates transfer losses and significantly speeds up hydrogen fueling operations—both significant pain points for the zero-emissions fuel.
"We are simultaneously providing a pragmatic, near-term solution for hydrogen infrastructure and delivery, as well as for converting existing passenger aircraft to use this lightweight, safe, and true-zero-emissions fuel," said Paul Eremenko, co-founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen. "Today's milestones are essential, important steps to putting the industry on a trajectory to meet Paris Agreement obligations. The only alternative is curtailing aviation traffic growth to curb emissions."
[Podcast]¿Es el aeropuerto de Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suarez el peor del Mundo?
Ya sabemos que para hoy os habíamos prometido algo que se salía totalmente de lo habitual, una charla con el autor del que posiblemente sea el único poema que gira entorno a un autogiro, y que además tiene forma de autogiro, porque es un caligrama. Pero la actualidad manda… así que el episodio más literario del programa tendrá que esperar a la próxima entrega, dentro de dos semanas.
¿Cuál es esa actualidad que manda? Pues que ni más ni menos una periodista del Financial Times dice, en un artículo que hemos conocido por The Local, que el aeropuerto madrileño es el peor del Mundo. Y después de haber viajado, y haber tenido penosas experiencias en otros aeropuertos, esta aseveración nos parecía como poco cuestionable. Y más sabiendo que en diciembre se listaba este aeropuerto como el 12º mejor del mundo. Así que hemos tirado de contactos y hemos invitado a Miguel Sánchez, consultor especializado en aeropuertos y con amplia experiencia, nacional e internacional, a analizar los hechos que expone la periodista del Financial Times. ¿Es el aeropuerto Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suárez el peor del Mundo?
pd: Si la intro y la despedida os son familiares, que no os sorprenda. En un ejercicio de nostalgia podcasteril he hablado con Javier Lago para pedirle permiso y utlizar la introducción que hizo para el que, si no recuerdo mal, fue el primer podcast español sobre aviación: Remove Before Flight RBF podcast