Joby Aviation's hydrogen-powered VTOL air taxi completed a record-breaking 520-mile flight over California, producing only water as a direct byproduct.
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The flight, which was three times longer than the distance records set by the same company's electric vehicles, "demonstrates the potential of hydrogen to perform regional travel without emissions," according to a statement from Joby Aviation, the company behind the prototype taxi. The air taxi also retained 10 percent of its hydrogen fuel after the flight, meaning it could fly even further in the future.
The flight took place on June 24 and is the first hydrogen-powered aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL), according to Joby Aviation. Previous hydrogen-powered flights have used either airliner-style aircraft that require a runway or smaller vehicles, such as Metavista’s unmanned aerial vehicle. These hydrogen-powered aircraft flights have lasted from 10 minutes to 3 hours. Metavista’s vehicle flew for 12 hours.
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Joby Aviation's VTOL air taxi is a modified six-rotor electric aircraft that can be used in urban conditions. The original battery-powered vehicle completed 40,000 km of testing in multiple flights at the company's base in Marina, California, and over New York City. Engineers then converted this battery to hydrogen-electric, adding a fuel tank capable of storing 40 kilograms of liquid hydrogen, as well as a hydrogen fuel cell system.
The advantage of the hydrogen-powered design is that it can go much further than a battery-electric vehicle, which needs recharging every 100 to 150 miles (160 to 240 km).
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The company plans to start selling its initial battery-electric aircraft in 2025.Joby Aviation’s hydrogen-electric VTOL air taxi will take longer to market, but “the vast majority of the design, testing and certification work we’ve completed on our electric aircraft is moving toward commercializing hydrogen-electric flight,” said JoeBen Bevirt, the company’s founder and CEO.
Source: livescience
