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Australia’s long-range electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft could be ready for emission-free flight testing within a year.
This follows a successful first year of hydrogen aviation testing at Sydney’s Bankstown Airport.
Australian zero-emission aircraft designer and manufacturer AMSL Aero has announced successful completion of its first year of hydrogen fuel cell testing at the airport, saying that positions it for emission-free flight testing within 12 months.
The company says it is closer to its goal of decarbonising essential air services such as medical transfers, passenger, and freight services.
AMSL Aero’s hybrid eVTOL aircraft Vertiia will fly 1000km on hydrogen, making air transport cheaper and greener nationwide, it says.
The tests’ results reveal that since mid-2024, AMSL Aero has used more than 200 kilograms of hydrogen – enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool at atmospheric pressure and successfully power its 100kW fuel cell test bench.
The test bench works as a fully functional mock-up of the hydrogen powertrain for Vertiia, which in late 2024 made its first flights.
AMSL Aero says it has orders for Vertiias from general aviation operators including Bankstown Airport-based Aviation Logistics, making it one of the few eVTOL manufacturers worldwide to have secured cash deposits.
“In just one year, our world-class engineering team has successfully demonstrated the practical applications of hydrogen in aviation,” says AMSL Aero chairman Chris Smallhorn.
“Our collaboration with Bankstown Airport is instrumental in our ongoing mission to offer longer-distance flights that cut both the cost and carbon footprint of travel across Australia and elsewhere.”
AMSL Aero hydrogen lead Simon Coburn says the 200kg of hydrogen used was sufficient to export 30kW of electricity into the airport grid for three working weeks and slash the airport’s power bill by about 1.8MWh.
“Our fuel cell test bench has not only validated our aircraft’s powertrain but has also contributed to the airport’s energy needs.”
Bankstown Airport operator Aeria Management Group chief executive Tom Smith says: “Bankstown Airport is leading the way in the national flight path towards net-zero aviation.
“Thanks to AMSL Aero, Bankstown Airport became the first airport in Australia to introduce hydrogen as aviation fuel,” Smith says.
“A year on, we are proud to continue working with the pioneering team at AMSL Aero to land hydrogen-fuelled flights for all Australians, including essential emergency and aeromedical services in regional and rural Australia.”
AMSL Aero has deployed the test bench to Wellington Aerodrome in rural New South Wales for recharging Vertiia between test flights.
Meanwhile, a newly released report from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering on the Australian-Japan renewable hydrogen value chain suggests renewable hydrogen has “tremendous potential to support new and established industries in Australia and Japan”.
The report highlights key areas of interest for both countries and says “significant investment is needed to develop large-scale production, overcome high capital costs, and build the necessary infrastructure for storage and transport”.
