A group of New Zealand and Australian companies have successfully filled a set of aviation tanks with liquid hydrogen both produced and stored on-site for the first time at an international airport.
Fabrum, AMSL Aero, and Stralis Aircraft have filled tanks in preparation for pre-flight testing, marking another step toward the transition to zero-emission aviation.
Refuelling was carried out at Fabrum’s dedicated liquid-hydrogen test facility at Christchurch Airport, with the company also responsible for the design and manufacturing of the composite tanks themselves.
Christopher Boyle, Managing Director of Christchurch-based Fabrum, said:Our lightweight composite tanks, together with our hydrogen liquefier and refuelling systems, are critical enablers for hydrogen-powered flight.
By bringing all the elements together for the first time on site at an international airport - producing, storing, and dispensing liquid hydrogen into composite aviation tanks as a fuel - we’re proving that liquid-hydrogen technologies for aircraft are now available and that hydrogen-electric flight will soon be a reality in Australasia.
Technologies involved in the testing event included Fabrum’s triple-skin aviation fuel tanks and both Stralis Aircraft & AMSL Aero’s own liquid-hydrogen storage Dewar and onboard aviation fuel tanks.
All companies involved are members of the Hydrogen Flight Alliance in Australia, which is seeking to advance the development of hydrogen-electric flight.
