Hydrogen offers the only clear pathway for aviation to achieve true carbon neutrality, and the key obstacle to its widespread adoption as a power source is the complexity of the required supporting infrastructure. That, in a nutshell, is the hypothesis on which California-based startup Universal Hydrogen is shaping a business model built around spurring early adoption by making it easy for operators to switch from fossil fuel to hydrogen.
Universal Hydrogen, cofounded seven months ago by Airbus’s former chief technology officer, Paul Eremenko, is working on a plan to re-engine Dash 8 and ATR 42 regional airliners with fuel-cell electric propulsion and refillable hydrogen modules. The modules will be supplied full, directly from hydrogen production facilities to the aircraft. The company is offering to cover all or part of the conversion-kit costs for the propulsion system in return for long-term contracts to supply the hydrogen.
