World’s first commercial hydrogen-powered aircraft is completely green and is being built in the Netherlands

Netherlands-based InnovationQuarter, the regional development agency for South Holland, announced on Monday that a major Dutch partnership is developing a hydrogen-based aeroplane system that is totally green from fuel to motor. The Dutch-origin technology is scalable to larger aircraft. 

In a statement, InnovationQuarter also mentions that the world’s ‘first-ever’ larger passenger aircraft powered by liquid green hydrogen, 40-80 seats, is to fly between the Netherlands and London in 2028.

With this, the Netherlands will become the world’s top provider of hydrogen-powered aircraft. There will be no more CO2 or nitrogen in the exhaust, resulting in zero CO2 emissions during air travel. And this first trip will not be a one-time event. From 2028 onwards, multiple commercial flights will be launched across the world.

Who is building the technology?

Hydrogen Aircraft Powertrain and Storage System (HAPSS) is a Dutch public-private partnership set up by Unified International and InnovationQuarter with 17 companies, including Fokker, TU Delft, the Dutch government, and the Royal Dutch Aerospace Center. 

The Aviation in Transition initiative, of which the HAPSS project is the major component, received €383M from the National Growth Fund. By 2025, the system will be ready for use in the lab.

Contribution to Dutch GDP, green economy, and 1200 jobs

According to an international survey, more than 90 per cent of consumers are prepared to spend more for a green flight. The HAPSS initiative achieves zero-emission air travel and assists the Dutch in becoming the world’s leading supplier of such systems (tier-one position). 

The device will be installed in an existing turboprop aircraft with 40-80 seats first, before being employed in a zero-emission aircraft with even more seats.

Michel van Ierland of Unified International says, “This is unique worldwide according to experts. And the best part: above this project flies a completely Dutch flag, so this project contributes directly and one-on-one to the Dutch GDP.” 

As of 2028, HAPSS will provide 1,200 jobs.

Van Ierland says, “We are providing structural employment in the green economy with this programme. In addition, we are opening up a €16B world market for the Netherlands. This is very interesting for Scandinavia and New Zealand, for example, where for shorter distances people are still focusing on battery-electric technology.”

Michel van Ierland calls it “an absolutely unique project where the red-white-and-blue splashes from. We have had a strong aircraft manufacturing industry in the Netherlands for 100 years. And we are very good at working together, companies with knowledge institutions and government – the golden triangle. And if the parties connect their knowledge and skills with each other, you will soon have such a world first as in 2028. I am incredibly proud of that.”

How does it work? 

The entire aircraft chain, from fuel to motor, will be totally green. Under the guidance of a newly constituted BV, 17 organisations and companies, including Fokker, TU Delft, Zepp Solutions, and Saluqi, are working on various elements of the chain.

Where fuel is presently housed in the wings, hydrogen capsules in the aircraft’s tail will replace them in the new aircraft. The hydrogen is then sent to the engine, where it is transformed into electricity. The engine converts electricity into motion and sends it to the propellers.

“It sounds easier than it is; the piping, for example, is also a complex matter,” says Bert Klarus of InnovationQuarter. “If you want to transport hydrogen through pipes, you have to keep it well under control with pressure regulators and compressors. And there is also a lot of heat released, you have to do something with that too.”

InnovationQuarter has been building the HAPSS programme together with Technology Park Ypenburg and Unified International since 2020. Klarus adds, “We have brought the partners of this consortium together, always with the explicit ambition to make this a Dutch solution.”

Dutch and European aviation authorities have also been hooked up. Van Ireland says, “This system has to be certified, but we are very hopeful about that. We are building and tinkering with an existing, robust and proven system. We can benefit from that.”

The Netherlands takes the lead in aviation

The Netherlands has 100 years of experience in aviation. However, with Anthony Fokker’s demise as an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in 1996, the demand for Dutch-made aircraft components came to an end. In the meantime, the ecosystem has only been used for aircraft platforms such as Airbus, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin (F35). This is now going to change.

With the HAPSS project, the Netherlands is positioning itself worldwide as a supplier for airlines that need to start flying sustainably. Potential customers include Airbus, Boeing, Embraer and De Havilland.

Experiments with hydrogen-powered flight are also being conducted in the US and the UK, although mostly by parties with roots in commercial, sustainable energy supply. Airbus/Leonardo and Embraer are also developing hydrogen technology for future aeroplanes. However, their time horizon is a little further out after 2035.