A 19-seat Dornier 228 aircraft with one of its turboprop engines replaced by the company's fuel-cell-based powertrain made a 10-minute flight on January 19 from Kemble Airport in the UK.
The deal strengthens ZeroAvia's efforts to have supplemental type certificates in place to support the launch of commercial services of converted regional airliners on flights of up to 300 miles by 2025.
The companies see a market to retrofit some of the 2,400 turboprop utility aircraft already delivered worldwide under a supplemental type certificate for the 600-kW ZA600 powertrain.
ZeroAvia aims to bring a hydrogen-powered 19-seat airliner into commercial service by 2024, with larger aircraft, carrying up to 80 passengers, set to use its powertrains by 2026.
The UK report into the April 2021 accident found that the aircraft lost electrical power after pilots switched off the battery with the intention that the motors would be powered solely by hydrogen fuel cells.