Aviation H₂ continues to progress its goal of having Australia’s first H₂-powered plane in the sky by mid-2023 with the company due to acquire test engines for modification in the next four to six weeks.

Speaking to Stockhead, director Dr Helmut Mayer said the company was in the process of acquiring two (or maybe three) test engines, which they will use a proof of concept for their method of converting jet planes to carbon-free fuel.

Its strategic partner and specialist charter flight operator FalconAir is going through the process of making sure those engines meet Aviation H2’s requirements.

“Once we have fully documented that, we will then make an offer on the engines and buy them,” Mayer said, adding that their lack of flight certification and the fact that they don’t have to be re-certified provides a cost-effective solution to purchasing them.

“Then the people in the U.S. who have the engines at the moment will bench-run them to give us a baseline performance for the engines, which we then use to calibrate our tests here in Australia.

“At the moment, we expect to get the engines in the next four to six weeks, and we will start testing fairly shortly after that.”

While the test engines will not be used for flight testing, they will be invaluable for the company to prove its technologies and that it is possible for liquid ammonia to continue burning.