Ecojet will make hydrogen retrofitted aircraft fly

A campaigner for green energies, British entrepreneur Dale Vince wants to launch Ecojet, the first airline to offer hydrogen-powered flights. But the aircraft will first burn paraffin.

Founder of Ecotricity, which has been offering green electricity to the UK since 1995, this former hippy has announced the creation of Ecojet, the first electric aviation company. In truth, it means electric and hydrogen. Dale Vince’s aim is to retrofit aircraft and reduce their carbon footprint.

For this project, he has teamed up with pilot Brent Smith and aviation specialists. Operations will begin in 2024 between Edinburgh and Southampton. However, the flights will initially run on paraffin, on 19- and 70-seater aircraft. The plan is to retrofit these aircraft from 2025, when Ecojet will be certified by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority). Eventually, the company will expand to Europe and will also offer long-haul flights.

In Dale Vince’s opinion, “this will be the biggest revolution in aviation since the invention of the jet.” He points out that the water generated by hydrogen will be released into the lower atmosphere to avoid contrails.

Do you want to learn more about hydrogen aircraft and Ecojet? Then our latest 2 articles on the subject should interest you. You can read them here and there. 

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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King