Hydroplane today announced it signed its second U.S. Air Force (USAF) Small Business Technology Transfer contract, marking the close of the innovative hydrogen powerplant technology start up’s seed round. The company reports this contract allows the business, in partnership with the University of Houston, to demonstrate an engineering model hydrogen fuel cell based powerplant in a ground and flight demonstration.
The company also reports “it is on track to fly its demonstrator aircraft in 2023 and is focused on developing affordable hydrogen fuel cell powerplant technology for existing single engine aircraft” and that “Hydroplane’s 200 kW modular solution is designed to replace existing combustion powerplants in today’s existing single engine and urban air mobility platforms, while simultaneously delivering a significant improvement in range, endurance, and payload over the battery-powered equivalent”.
Use cases the company says “for this technology include flight training, commercial transportation, air taxi, cargo transportation, humanitarian aid, and government support” and that “It will also lower operating costs compared to conventional piston engines”.
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(Image: Hydroplane)