MOJAVE, Calif. (KERO) — Lightning McClean is the name of one of the first airplanes to ever experience hydrogen-powered flight. The plane is owned by L.A. startup Universal Hydrogen, and the company is testing the groundbreaking technology at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Kern County.
Director of Powertrain Engineering and Flight Tests for Universal Hydrogen Loris Griner says hydrogen-powered flight has the potential to change the aerospace industry and benefit the environment at the same time.
"The mission of Universal Hydrogen is to make carbon-free aviation a reality, so we're tackling that challenge by developing a hydrogen retrofit kit and modular fueling solution," said Griner.
The retrofit kit is a fuel cell electric powertrain that is made to replace engines on existing regional aircraft, converting them to hydrogen power. Griner says that the transition to cleaner hydrogen power is essential to cut down emissions from the aviation industry.
"What you do is you take this hydrogen and then you react it with oxygen to generate electricity, and then we use that electricity in the electric motor to spin the propeller and generate thrust for the aircraft," explained Griner.
Griner says this engine doesn't produce any carbon emissions, adding that one barrier to the adoption of hydrogen power in the past has been the price of it.
"But with the advances in renewable energy, we can now get cheap clean energy," said Griner.
The second barrier is infrastructure, but Universal Hydrogen is also developing ways to store and transport hydrogen, which Griner says is also being addressed.
"Modules we fill at a production facility and then transport them to the airport using the intermodal freight network," said Griner. "Once the module is at the aircraft, you can put it into the plane the same way you would load cargo onto the aircraft. The aircraft can go for its flight and use the hydrogen for the flight."
Griner says Lightning McClean has gone on several test flights and is fitted with one hydrogen engine and one traditional engine that uses jet fuel. During the test flights, pilots have been able to lower the power output of the traditional engine and fly solely on hydrogen power.
"We did the longest flight on hydrogen, which was more than an hour," said Griner.
Mojave Air and Space Port General Manager Timothy Reid says he is excited about the potential that Universal Hydrogen will bring to the facility.
"I'm thrilled that Universal Hydrogen is here and honestly, we have other entities that are interested in testing hydrogen aircraft as well at Mojave," said Reid. "Because Mojave Air and Space Port really focuses on testing and coming up with solutions to the existing problems in the aviation industry, we're perfectly situated to perform these types of tests."
Reid added that the airport is looking to partner with the Mojave Inland Port to utilize a microgrid.
"A microgrid uses solar panels which you can use to develop hydrogen, so the goal is that we would produce hydrogen on-site and sell it commercially to other operators that require hydrogen as the first commercial airport in the nation to sell aviation-grade hydrogen," said Reid.
While Universal Hydrogen's first goal is to sell retrofit kits to convert regional airplanes, they hope to be able to show that hydrogen-powered planes are a viable idea and work with larger manufacturers to develop larger commercial hydrogen-powered planes.
"We hope to partner with the OEMs like Airbus, which has been very vocal about working with hydrogen, and Boeing, to make the next generation hydrogen-powered, which will come around 2035," said Griner.
To learn more about Universal Hydrogen, please visit their website.
