ZeroAvia and Absolut Hydrogen announced a partnership to jointly explore liquid hydrogen (LH₂) production, storage and refueling at airports. The partners will work together to build and demonstrate liquefaction and liquid H₂ storage in an airport context and ultimately explore the technology developments, concept of operations, safety procedures and standards for larger-scale deployment to deliver liquid H₂ to aircraft.

Grenoble-based Absolut Hydrogen, a subsidiary of Groupe Absolut, develops LH₂ systems for heavy-duty mobility for aeronautical, maritime and land applications, building upon Groupe Absolut’s expertise and deep industry knowledge in complex cryogenic systems. Absolut Hydrogen is offering a full LH₂ product range with an entry small scale H₂ liquefaction system (< 50 kg/d), a 100 kg/d Turbo-Brayton based H₂ liquefier, and a 1 tpd liquefier based on the same technology.

Whilst ZeroAvia’s first certified powertrains for up to 19 seat aircraft will be powered by gaseous H₂, ZA2000—a 2 MW–5.4 MW modular powertrain for 40 seat–80 seat aircraft, targeting entry-in-service in 2027—will require liquid H₂. This will improve the volumetric energy density of the fuel, enabling support for larger aircraft, flying more passengers, on longer typical routes.

The move further cements ZeroAvia’s advantage at developing solutions for large regional turboprops and beyond, following the recent announcement of its high temperature fuel cell technology promising the necessary power for larger aircraft.

Arnab Chatterjee, VP Infrastructure, ZeroAvia, said, “As well as building our in-house liquid H₂ knowledge over the last few months, it has been critical to establish partnerships to begin building the ecosystem that can deliver liquid H₂ fuel for larger aircraft, at larger airport locations. Retaining and growing aviation will bring us all closer together and keep the world small, but it depends upon this quest for zero-emission aviation being successful.”

Jérôme Lacapère, CEO of Absolut Hydrogen, said, “This partnership with ZeroAvia is an opportunity to take a new step towards a more sustainable aviation. Liquid H₂ is considered the most advantageous state for tomorrow's aviation and heavy-duty mobility in general, and Absolut Hydrogen enables its availability thanks to its H₂ liquefiers. I am convinced this partnership will lead to new standards on liquid H₂ infrastructure for aircraft.”