British Airways backs development of hydrogen fleet

The UK's flagship airline British Airways (BA) has invested in hydrogen-powered aircraft developer ZeroAvia in a bid to accelerate the development of zero-emissions planes.

The airline and a group of other investors have put a total of $24.3mn into ZeroAvia, which completed its first hydrogen-electric powered flight of a commercial aircraft in September last year. The investment will pave the way for commercialisation of the aircraft for short-haul routes as early as 2024, ZeroAvia said. "This new funding, in conjunction with our other recent milestones, will significantly accelerate our path to zero-emission solutions for larger regional aircraft at a commercial scale," ZeroAvia chief executive Miftakhov said.

BA said it supports the development of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source "because we believe it has the potential to enable us to reach true zero emissions on short-haul routes by 2050", chief executive Sean Doyle said. The company's 2050 net zero-emissions targets include investing in the development of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), flying more fuel-efficient aircraft and introducing carbon offset and removal projects.

BA and biofuels producer Velocys have agreed to extend the option agreement for the UK's Altalto waste-to-fuels project in Immingham to 31 March next year. Exercise of the option gives both companies equal equity ownership of Altalto, a subsidiary of Velocys, and the right to appoint a director. Engineering work at the Immingham plant is due to begin this year. Velocys said previously that it plans to start producing SAF at the plant from 2024 using around 500,000 t/yr of non-recyclable household and commercial solid waste.

By Florence Schmit