Stralis Aircraft and CQ University plan to use hydrogen-electric technology to power a commercial flight route between Brisbane and Gladstone in 2027.
The Brisbane-based company will work with CQ University to design a heat management system for a high-temperature PEM fuel cell system that they aim to integrate into the liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft.
H2 View understands that the two plan to test the hydrogen-electric propulsion system on a Bonanza A36 aircraft in Queensland later this year.
The Regional University Industry Collaboration (RUIC) Programme is supporting the project, and it will be funded by the Queensland Government and delivered by Australia’s national science agency CSIRO.
The RUIC initiative connects small to medium enterprises (SMEs) with regional universities to undertake collaborative research partnerships across Queensland.
Dr. George Feast, CSIRO’s SME Connect Programmes Director, said, “The RUIC Programme empowers SMEs like Stralis to transform ambitious ideas into reality.”
CQ University’s Professor in Hydrogen, Jonathon Love, claimed the Centre for Hydrogen and Renewable Energy at the University will “help Stralis advance their innovative liquid hydrogen-fuelled HT-PEM fuel cell electric propulsion system towards their exciting first test flight.”
Both Stralis Aircraft and the Rockhampton-based university are part of the Hydrogen Flight Alliance (HFA), which was launched in 2023 by Australian aviation and green hydrogen players at Brisbane Airport.
Read more: Hydrogen Flight Alliance launches in Australia targeting commercial flight from 2026
Hydrogen gains traction in large aircraft sector
The US Air Force recently provided a startup, JetZero, with $235m to develop a full-scale technology demonstrator of a blended-wing-body (BWB) aircraft which is expected to be flying by early 2027.
A subsidiary of Northrop Grumman (Scaled Composites) will build the prototype, which makes the project and its timescale distinctly credible. The demonstrator is expected to have half the fuel consumption of its conventional equivalent.
The new shape benefits from the cumulative gains from a much high lift/drag ratio, plus a more efficient structure in lighter but stronger materials, and its engines will be geared turbofans.
By 2026, when airline executives will be able to visit Scaled Composites and see the full-sized BWB demonstrator almost ready to fly, most of the aircraft then on order from Airbus and Boeing will become effectively obsolete. This is because the BWB concept is more efficient for all sizes of airliners, and JetZero is claiming its demonstrator will need only half the fuel used by its conventional equivalents, over most routes.
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