FutureFlight
With Customer and Partners on Board, Project Fresson Steps Up Hydrogen Commuter Plans
For the UK consortium, converting the venerable Islander to hydrogen power is phase one of an ambitious zero-carbon plan for sub-regional air links to remote communities.
Britten-Norman Islander
Currently powered with a pair of piston or turboprop engines, the ubiquitous Britten-Norman Islander could be running on hydrogen by 2025. (Photo: Britten-Norman)

Now well into its sixth decade in production, Britten-Norman’s Islander family of utility aircraft probably isn’t many people’s idea of the future of air transportation. But for the companies involved in the UK’s Project Fresson, the versatile workhorse is an ideal platform for a hydrogen-powered, zero-carbon regional airliner capable of carrying nine passengers on short-haul routes that are hard to serve with larger aircraft.

In late October, propulsion innovator Reaction Engines became the latest supplier to join a consortium of companies led by Cranfield Aerospace Solutions as it aims to achieve service entry of the green Islander in 2025. It will provide fuel cell cooling technology to work with the hydrogen fuel cell system being provided by Ricardo UK and fuel tanks from Innovatus Technologies to contain the gaseous hydrogen.