A pioneering Bristol project that is developing a way to power planes using hydrogen has secured £54.4m as part of a Government drive to make the aviation sector greener.
H2GEAR, which is being head up by aerospace giant GKN, is among three British programmes to be awarded cash in a move slated to create thousands of jobs over the next decade.
Each project to win funding is developing technology to power zero-emissions flights using alternative energy sources.
H2GEAR will receive a £27.2m grant, which will be matched by GKN and its industry partners, over the next five years. The money will be delivered through the Government’s Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme.
The GKN-led project is developing a liquid hydrogen-propulsion system for aircraft that would eliminate harmful CO2 emissions and leave water as the only by-product of flight.
If successful, the aerospace firm said it could help secure up to 3,120 high-value engineering and manufacturing jobs by 2032-2033 in Bristol, Coventry and Loughborough.
GKN is planning to focus on improving regional aircraft first and later scale up to larger planes and longer journeys. It said the first hydrogen-powered aircraft could enter service as early as 2026.
Russ Dunn, chief technology officer for GKN Aerospace, said: “Hydrogen-powered aircraft offer a clear route to keep the world connected, with dramatically cleaner skies.
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“The 海角视频 is at the forefront of this technology, and the H2GEAR project is an example of industry, academia and Government collaboration at its best.”
GKN will collaborate with fuel cell engineering company Intelligent Energy; high-speed electric motor firm Aeristech; Newcastle University; the University of Manchester; and University of Birmingham.
The programme will be delivered from GKN's Global Technology Centre, in Filton, near Bristol - a £32m brand-new collaborative space for research and development.
The other projects to secure finance are both based in Bedfordshire. Hydrogen-electric aircraft developer ZeroAvia’s HyFlyer II will receive a £12.3m government grant to scale up its zero-emissions engines for demonstration on a 19-seater aircraft.
InCEPTion, led by Blue Bear Systems Research, will receive £2.8m to develop a fully-electrified zero-emissions propulsion system for aircraft that could be used for smaller planes travelling short distances – even within the same city.
Business minister Paul Scully said: “These trailblazing projects are broadening the horizons of future air travel, towards a greener future where we may be able to hail taxis from the sky rather than on our streets.
“This multi-million-pound boost will help to secure up to 4,750 jobs in these projects spanning the 海角视频, and could pave the way to technological advances that will allow the industry to build back better and greener following the Covid-19 pandemic – and help tackle climate change.”
The investment comes ahead of the Government’s consultation on the Aviation Decarbonisation Strategy this year, set out as part of the Prime Minister’s 10 point plan for a green industrial revolution, and the UN climate change conference, COP26, which is taking place in Glasgow in 2021.