Bosch Aviation Technology has converted a conventional aircraft engine for operation with hydrogen in Vienna, Austria.
The Robert Bosch subsidiary has modified a 1.4 litre Rotax 91 gasoline engine, which is used in a range of light aircraft, to reportedly optimise time, money and simplify regulatory approval.
Over the course of four months, Bosch has adapted the engine to run on hydrogen and tested it on an engine bench. In an online statement, the German engineering firm said the hydrogen-powered version can deliver 115kW of power, a solid output for light aircraft applications.
Bosch has claimed that this is within 2% of the original petrol version and that there’s room to increase the power further with future prototypes.
“Instead of developing an entirely new engine, we opted to modify an established engine design as we anticipate strong demand for this pioneering approach in future customer projects due to the time, cost, and approval advantages,” explained, Christian Grim, General Manager of Bosch General Aviation Technology.
However, hydrogen-powered aviation has struggled to get off the ground, held back by tough challenges around storage, engine durability, refuelling infrastructure, and investment.
The turbulence has claimed players like Apus Zero Emission, while major aviator Airbus hit pause on their hydrogen plans earlier this year.
