Carbon-free flights promised 'within two years'

An aviation company plans to run commercial flights using an electric engine that creates no carbon emissions by 2025. ZeroAvia has flown nine test flights with its hydrogen-electric engine at Cotswold Airport, near Cirencester. The only emission created by the engine is water. Sergey Kiselev, Vice-President of ZeroAvia, said the engine would help achieve "the decarbonisation of aviation". Many other aerospace firms are developing engines that run on hydrogen, but most are not expecting to fly commercially until 2035. So how have they done it, and could it be possible to fly without causing climate change much sooner than people had thought? The Gloucestershire-based company are moving much faster because they are not designing an entirely new aircraft. ZeroAvia is working on the Dornier 228, a conventional 19-seater plane that has two propellers, usually powered by kerosene. One of these has been replaced by an electric engine, and the electricity is generated on-board using a hydrogen fuel cell. For the testing period, the other engine remains fuelled by kerosene, in case of failure. But once the technology is proved, both engines will run on electricity from the hydrogen fuel cell. Only the new engine needs to pass safety tests, and the company is working with the Civil Aviation Authority to achieve certification.<br/>