Universal Hydrogen, a company aiming to develop a kerosene-to-hydrogen conversion kit for ATR 72 and De Havilland Canada DHC-8-300 aircraft engines, demonstrated a Dash 8's all-hydrogen engine.
The company released a video of the test on January 19, 2023. According to Universal Hydrogen, filming of the test drive will take place soon as it continues to progress on the Dash 8, registration N330EN.
American Airlines is one of the company's investors as the US carrier placed a strategic investment in Universal Hydrogen in October 2022. American Airlines invested an undisclosed amount, joining companies such as Airbus Ventures, GE Aviation and others as strategic investors in Universal Hydrogen.
It works! First propeller spin entirely on #hydrogen fuel cell power. Now the fairings come on. Taxi testing footage is coming soon. Stay tuned for that. pic.twitter.com/Y4NpK19zrr
— Universal Hydrogen Co. (@Universal_H2) January 18, 2023
Universal Hydrogen is led by co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Eremenko, who is the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Airbus and United Technologies Corporation (UTC). The latter merged with Raytheon Corporation in April 2020, forming Raytheon Technologies.
The company plans to start operating hydrogen-powered passenger flights from 2025. In September 2022, it signed a collaboration agreement with DAT, a regional airline in Denmark, which also offers ACMI and wet-lease solutions, and Everfuel, a Danish energy production and distribution company.
The three companies will join forces to "transform regional aviation in Denmark" by enabling zero-emission flights using hydrogen for propulsion. Universal Hydrogen will supply conversion kits for DAT's ATR 72-600 aircraft flying domestic routes in Denmark.