Electric Aviation Group (EAG) is stepping up its plans to bring a hydrogen-powered regional airliner to market by establishing a subsidiary company to develop a megawatt-class fuel cell stack system for its planned 90-seat Hydrogen Hybrid-Electric Regional Aircraft (H2ERA). The Smart Megawatt Stack (SMS) Fuel Cell Systems subsidiary will develop megawatt-scale fuel cell stack systems for both aerospace and non-aerospace applications.
UK-based EAG first announced plans for an aircraft with 70 or more seats back in July 2020. Discussions with prospective operators have since prompted the company to aim to deliver a 90 seater that would have a range of around 1,200 nm. The range projection is largely based on the premise that in the early days of hydrogen propulsion in air transport the limited availability of the fuel may mean that services have to be planned around all fueling being conducted at the airport where the service originates until infrastructure supports en-route refueling.
