The battle for the flight of the largest hydrogen fuel-cell-powered aircraft is on. ZeroAvia recently completed its first flight with a 19-seater Dornier 228. However, Universal Hydrogen is nipping at its heels - and looking to up the ante with a Dash 8-300 testbed.

Earlier this week, the California-based startup announced it had been granted a special airworthiness certificate in the experimental category by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to proceed with the first flight of the aircraft.

The FAA approval clears the way for the first flight of the Dash 8-300, which Universal Hydrogen says will happen before the end of Q1, 2023. It will take place at Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington. The company also released a video of the retrofitted turboprop's first taxi, along with a short interview with the project's Chief Test Pilot.

Second-largest hydrogen-powered plane to fly

The founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen is Paul Eremenko, former Chief Technical Officer at Airbus. If successful, Universal Hydrogen's testbed Dash 8 will be the second-largest hydrogen-powered aircraft ever to take to the skies, beaten only by the direct combustion engine fitted onto a Soviet Tupolev Tu-155 in 1988. And it will be the largest ever hydrogen fuel-cell powered airframe.

Eremenko commented,

“We are simultaneously providing a pragmatic, near-term solution for hydrogen infrastructure and delivery, as well as for converting existing passenger aircraft to use this lightweight, safe, and true-zero-emissions fuel. Today’s milestones are essential, important steps to putting the industry on a trajectory to meet Paris Agreement obligations. The only alternative is curtailing aviation traffic growth to curb emissions.”

The Dash 8-300 has been retrofitted with a hydrogen fuel cell in one of the nacelles. This is in a configuration that resembles the first engine product Universal will bring to market - a conversion kit for the ATR 72-600. According to the current timeline, this will be certified and delivered for commercial passenger service in 2025.

Modular delivery system testing in Toulouse

Universal Hydrogen began life as a hydrogen infrastructure facilitation project. As can be seen in the post above, the company intends to the challenges of getting hydrogen to where it needs to go through a capsule system. The first operational tests of this modular delivery system took place at Universal's engineering center in Toulouse, France, in December 2022.

What do you think, will we see a Dash-8-300 fly on hydrogen before the end of March? Share your thoughts on the hydrogen timeline in the comment section below.