19 Mar 2025
By the end of the decade, folks in Europe could already have access to the first certified, commercial electric business aircraft with hydrogen propulsion. This is the goal for Beyond Aero, a hydrogen-electric aviation startup that has achieved amazing results since its founding in 2020. Its recently-optimized light jet concept has secured significant endorsements and is on track to obtain the EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) certification
Beyond Aero, a startup with offices in Toulouse, Paris, and Los Angeles, presented the first concept of its hydrogen-electric light jet in France just two years ago. Since then, the team has made great progress in further optimizing and refining this concept.
The goal is to develop an electric business aircraft with hydrogen propulsion, combining a six-passenger configuration with a range of 800 nautical miles (1,500 km) – enough to meet the requirements for most of today’s flight routes in Europe. This would make it the first electric light jet designed for hydrogen propulsion.
The new aircraft would be much better than an electric counterpart in terms of range (up to five times) and also more affordable for operators in terms of fuel costs (compared to SAF and Jet A-1). The BYA-1 sounds amazing: it could provide non-stop flights between top business and leisure destinations such as London and Nice, without any direct CO2 emissions in flight (thanks to the fuel cell technology) and with greater cost efficiency for the operators.
On the other hand, adapting the architecture of a light jet to hydrogen propulsion isn’t easy. Beyond Aero has recently unveiled the optimized version of the BYA-1, which showcases all the changes and improvements that had to be implemented for better efficiency.
The two electric engines in the modular architecture are powered by independent powerplant channels for built-in redundancy. The placement of the 700-bar hydrogen tanks (above the wing box structure) was specifically chosen to minimize risks and, therefore, increase safety. The fuel cell stack capacity was also increased to 2.4 MW.
Apart from hydrogen fuel costs being expected to drop in the coming years, this light jet’s all-electric powertrain with 90% fewer moving parts is another key factor in lowering the overall costs.
As for future passengers, they’ll also benefit from a more comfortable flying experience. The BYA-1’s main comfort enhancements are the elliptical windows (almost 30% bigger than those of conventional business jets), advanced noise insulation technology allowing the crew and passengers to converse without headsets, and Starlink high-speed Wi-Fi.
This bold new technology is also opening new doors in terms of regulations. The French startup is currently working with EASA to establish the certification framework for hydrogen-powered aircraft in this category. The BYA-1 is based on the architecture of a light jet, which falls under the EASA CS-23 regulations, but the hydrogen propulsion turns into a different beast, which requires its own set of regulations.
So far, Beyond Aero seems to have the know-how and the funding to go forward with its trailblazing concept, which should be officially ready to take to the sky by 2030
Read the full article here:- https://www.autoevolution.com/news/this-french-aircraft-is-set-to-become-worlds-first-hydrogen-powered-electric-business-jet-248644.html