World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Electric Business Jet

 New French Aircraft is expected to Become World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Business Jet 

By the end of the decade, folks in Europe could already have access to the first certified, commercial electric business aircraft with hydrogen propulsion. This is the goal for Beyond Aero, a hydrogen-electric aviation startup which has achieved amazing results since its founding in 2020. Its recently-optimized light jet concept has secured significant endorsements and is on track to obtain the EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) certification. Beyond Aero's BYA-1 is moving to stage two as the company announces new tech to make the six-person light jet simpler and safer. This zero-carbon business jet after a demonstrator made a short but successful first flight last year to prove the technology’s viability. If the cool-looking BYA-1 is flying commercially by 2030, as French aviation firm Beyond Aero forecasts, it will be the world’s first hydrogen-electric-powered light jet. This would put it in the same class as the Cessna Citation CJ3 and Phenom 300, though with a radical new type of power.

Beyond Aero, a startup with offices in Toulouse, Paris, and Los Angeles, presented the first concept of its hydrogen-electric light jet in France just two years ago. Since then, the team has made great progress in further optimizing and refining this concept. The 67-foot-long aircraft will be able to carry up to eight passengers, with an 800-nautical-mile range and a cruise speed of about 357 mph. Beyond Aero said it would be 12 times more efficient than an all-electric aircraft, while its mixture of hydrogen and oxygen would emit no CO2. The goal is to develop an electric business aircraft with hydrogen propulsion, combining a six-passenger configuration with a range of 800 nautical miles (1,500 km), enough to meet the requirements for most of today’s flight routes in Europe. This would make it the first electric light jet designed for hydrogen propulsion. This announcement of a “refined concept for its light jet,” included multiple technical advances. They include a new electric power train with 90% fewer moving parts than the previous design. This clean-sheet design will cut operational costs by more than half.

The new aircraft would be much better than an electric counterpart in terms of range (up to five times) and also more affordable for operators in terms of fuel costs (compared to SAF and Jet A-1). The BYA-1 sounds amazing: it could provide non-stop flights between top business and leisure destinations such as London and Nice, without any direct CO2 emissions in flight (thanks to the fuel cell technology) and with greater cost efficiency for the operators. Other changes include a redundant system consisting of two electric engines powered by independent fuel cell systems with a larger, 2.4MW capacity. For safety, the liquid-hydrogen fuel tank is now above the wing box to eliminate high-pressure fuel lines inside the cabin. The system also includes a new thermal management system with electric ducted fans and enhanced digital engine controls for all flight phases.

On the other hand, adapting the architecture of a light jet to hydrogen propulsion isn’t easy. Beyond Aero has recently unveiled the optimized version of the BYA-1, which showcases all the changes and improvements that had to be implemented for better efficiency. The two electric engines in the modular architecture are powered by independent power plant channels for built-in redundancy. The placement of the 700-bar hydrogen tanks (above the wing box structure) was specifically chosen to minimize risks and, therefore, increase safety. The fuel cell stack capacity was also increased to 2.4 MW. Despite its new tech, the jet will also use off-the-shelf parts to reduce costs and eliminate the need to develop existing technology. “Remember, we’re surfing just one wave of a larger ecosystem, a massive hydrogen initiative led by Airbus, while we’re focusing on business aircraft,” company said. “It’s moving faster than anyone expected. For us, it’s not a question of if, but when.”

Apart from hydrogen fuel costs being expected to drop in the coming years, this light jet’s all-electric powertrain with 90% fewer moving parts is another key factor in lowering the overall costs. As for future passengers, they’ll also benefit from a more comfortable flying experience. The BYA-1’s main comfort enhancements are the elliptical windows (almost 30% bigger than those of conventional business jets), advanced noise insulation technology allowing the crew and passengers to converse without headsets, and Starlink high-speed Wi-Fi. This bold new technology is also opening new doors in terms of regulations. The French startup is currently working with EASA to establish the certification framework for hydrogen-powered aircraft in this category. The BYA-1 is based on the architecture of a light jet, which falls under the EASA CS-23 regulations, but the hydrogen propulsion turns into a different beast, which requires its own set of regulations.

These changes follow a January announcement that the company had raised $20 million in funding for further development. BeyondAero cofounder Eloa Guillotin says the company has turned to other industries, including both Formula 1 and large-scale automakers, for potential solutions for its fuel-cell technology for an aircraft. “We’ve looked at anything with a fuel cell,” she said. The start-up has assembled a team of experts, including former aircraft manufacturer chief executives, structural engineers, and even the former head of general aviation for EASA, the European Union’s equivalent of the Federal Aviation Administration. Stéphane Mayer, former CEO of Daher aircraft, said the BYA-1 is “significantly more mature than the previous version,” noting Beyond Aero “has evaluated multiple configurations and unique constraints to produce a beautiful aircraft.”

Beyond Aero wants to certify its hydrogen-powered business jet by 2030, but that’s a very ambitious schedule. So far, Beyond Aero seems to have the know-how and the funding to go forward with its trailblazing concept, which should be officially ready to take to the sky in future ahead.