Companies strike agreement to explore different models for clean power and hydrogen supply supporting aviation and other use cases 

[Kemble, UK & Hollister, CA: January 10^th, 2024] — ZeroAvia today announced that it has signed an agreement with ScottishPower to work together to develop low carbon hydrogen supply to key airport locations to support decarbonisation of the aviation sector.  

As well as exploring airport hydrogen supply models and financing, the companies will also explore clean power requirements and hydrogen production infrastructure for potential future ZeroAvia sites within ScottishPower’s distribution network areas across Scotland, North West England and North Wales.  

ScottishPower’s energy generation operations are already 100 per cent renewable and powered by its UK wind farms, with the company offering retail and business customers wholly clean energy on green tariffs.   

ZeroAvia recently announced a 70 engine agreement with Scottish headquartered Ecojet, backed by the prominent environmentalist and entrepreneur Dale Vince. ZeroAvia also has a longstanding partnership with AGS Airports, including Glasgow and Aberdeen to explore the hydrogen infrastructure requirements for airports to support hydrogen-electric flight and other potential use cases.  

The Scottish Government’s target of 5GW renewable and low carbon hydrogen production by 2030 is half of the UK Government’s overall target, while major hydrogen production initiatives are also planned for the North West of England. 

Sergey Kiselev, Chief Business Officer at ZeroAvia, said: “With the plethora of existing renewables, and many projects planned, Scotland has the chance to lead the UK in developing clean hydrogen supply. Working with leading energy companies like ScottishPower can help us overcome fueling infrastructure challenges.”

Peter Jones, Director of ScottishPower’s Green Hydrogen business, said: “Green hydrogen, powered by renewable energy, can play a key role in the decarbonisation of heavy transport. We welcome the opportunity to support the aviation industry in delivering effective solutions for this important sector, enabling long term sustainable and cost-effective outcomes for customers.” 

Hydrogen-electric engines use hydrogen in fuel cells to generate electricity, which is then used to power electric motors to turn the aircraft’s propellers. The only emission is water. ZeroAvia is already well advanced in flight testing a prototype of its first engines for 20 seat planes from its R&D hub in Gloucestershire, while working on the engine systems for larger 40-80 seat aircraft.

About ZeroAvia 

ZeroAvia is a leader in zero-emission aviation with the mission of delivering a hydrogen-electric engine in every aircraft as the most environmentally and economically friendly solution for addressing the industry’s climate impact. The company is starting with engines to support a 300-mile range in 9–19 seat aircraft by the end of 2025, and up to 700-mile range in 40–80 seat aircraft by 2027. Founded in California and now with thriving teams also in Everett, WA and the United Kingdom, ZeroAvia has secured experimental certificates to test its engines in three separate testbed aircraft with the FAA and CAA and passed significant flight test milestones. The company has signed a number of key engineering partnerships with major aircraft OEMs and has nearly 2,000 pre-orders for engines from a number of the major global airlines, with future revenue potential over $10bn. For more, please visit ZeroAvia.com, follow @ZeroAvia on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.   

About ScottishPower 

ScottishPower is part of the Iberdrola Group, one of the world’s largest integrated utility companies and a world leader in wind energy. Our aim is to become a world leader in green hydrogen, spearheading its development to meet the demand for decarbonisation beyond electrification in sectors such as industry and heavy transport.  We are addressing the technological challenges of scaling up the production and supply of green hydrogen to deliver an economically competitive green energy solution.