ZeroAvia Eyes Potential For Hybrid-Powered Narrowbodies As Early As 2030

Airbus-funded powertrain developer ZeroAvia is evaluating an interim hydrogen-electric concept to power narrowbody airframes, which could potentially come to market as early as 2030.

ZeroAvia is looking to scale its hydrogen-electric propulsion to power a 100- to 200-seat aircraft within eight to 10 years, using the proposed ZA10000 family of powertrains. This is likely to require a new blended-wing narrowbody design, capable of carrying sufficient liquid hydrogen.

Airbus became one of ZeroAvia’s lead investors late in 2023, and ZeroAvia CEO Val Miftakhov said he is hoping to power Airbus’ ZEROe concept aircraft, which is expected to come to market around 2035.

However, ZeroAvia head of R&D Rudolf Coertze is also exploring an interim solution that could potentially power existing narrowbody architectures.

“We are targeting the 2035-2040 timeframe for full hydrogen-electric [for narrowbodies]. If we look at a more hybrid solution, there is an opportunity that we can potentially bring that [timeline] back by at least a few years, so we would be targeting around 2030-2032 for something like that,” Coertze said.

This “stepping stone” hybrid engine would combine a gas turbine engine, for hydrogen combustion, with an electric drive and hydrogen fuel cells. This configuration would mean ZeroAvia could use the gas turbine to generate take-off power, before switching to the fuel cells during the cruise.

However, this interim solution would likely carry payload-range penalties. Coertze said ZeroAvia will need to do a detailed network evaluation, looking at the actual distances being flown.

“For example, instead of having an aircraft that can fly all the way up to 3,000 nm, we would look at the actual routes that it [the narrowbody] is actually flying,” Coertze said. “And look at the highest percentage of those, which are typically less than 1,000 nm anyway. And then you look at something that is more purpose-designed for that, which requires less fuel, which then could potentially get into a traditional tube airframe design.”

He added that this may be a retrofit option for existing narrowbodies. “Those are details that we are going to work through and see what the real possibilities are,” Coertze said.

For the time being, ZeroAvia is working to certify the ZA600, which will power smaller commercial turboprops up to 20-seats. A ZA600 prototype engine flew on a Dornier 228 in January 2023 and the design has already been submitted to the UK CAA and U.S. FAA, with certification of expected in 2025 and entry-into-service (EIS) in 2026.

Beyond this, ZeroAvia is eyeing 2027 engine certification and 2028 EIS for the ZA2000, which will power larger turboprops with 40- to 90-seats, such as ATRs and De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Q400s. The ZA2000 is currently being ground tested on an Alaska Airlines Dash 8 Q400. At the Farnborough Airshow, KLM and ZeroAvia announced plans to perform an initial ZA2000 demonstration flight between two unnamed airports in 2026.

Explorations are also underway for a regional jet variant, the ZA2000RJ. This is being developed in partnership with Mitsubishi’s regional jet division, which owns design rights to the CRJ platform. The timeline for the ZA2000RJ is five to six years off.

ZeroAvia estimates that its technology can cut climate impact by up to 90% compared with traditional kerosene-powered flight.