Aircraft company ZeroAvia has announced its intention to
operate zero-emission commercial flights between Rotterdam The Hague airport
and London in 2024.
Through a partnership with Royal Schiphol Group, Rotterdam
The Hague Innovation Airport Foundation and the airport itself, ZeroAvia hopes
to fly a 19-seat aircraft using a hydrogen fuel cell on the route. The firm
says “advanced partnership talks” with airlines are ongoing to choose an
operator for the service. It has not said which London airport will be used for
the flights.
The company says it hopes the flight will be the first international
commercial operation of its kind in the world.
ZeroAvia and Royal Schiphol Group will collaborate on
testing and demonstrating hydrogen supply chain refuelling operations and
integration with airport operations. The companies will also focus on establishing
the pathway for commercial hydrogen-electric aviation, such as the regulatory
framework and understanding industry and public appetite for zero emissions
flight.
UK-based ZeroAvia has also established a legal entity in the
Netherlands to help create opportunities for commercialisation and partnership
at airports, airframe manufacturers and airlines within the EU.
Sergey Kiselev, head of Europe at ZeroAvia, said: “This deal
means that, in just three years’ time you should be able to board a flight and
make the hour journey between the UK and the Netherlands without worrying about
the impact on the climate. Working with partners like Royal Schiphol Group, we
are making true zero emission flights a reality for passengers in the first
half of this decade.”
The ambition follows ZeroAvia’s path to launching commercial
hydrogen-electric flights. In September 2020, the company successfully flew an
adapted six-seat plane in the UK.
Earlier this year, ZeroAvia won funding from the UK
government for the development of a liquid hydrogen refuelling system, and it
has also received investment from a group of companies including British
Airways.