The American company, Joby, completed a flight on 24 June over California with a liquid hydrogen version of its electric flying taxi. It announced that it had covered 523 miles (the equivalent of 842 km) with no emissions and releasing only water vapour.
The information was only disclosed on the Joby website yesterday, though a press release. This is the first time that a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft has made such a flight using liquid hydrogen. Potentially, this autonomy will pave the way for flights between San Francisco and San Diego, Boston and Baltimore, or Nashville and New Orleans.
This breakthrough was made possible thanks to a partnership with H2Fly*, a company headquartered in Stuttgart, and has been a Group company since 2021. H2Fly itself operated the first flight of a liquid hydrogen aircraft in September 2023. The hydrogen brick was added to an aircraft that was basically a battery-electric flying taxi. It was fitted with a fuel cell and tanks to store 40 kilos of hydrogen.
For JoeBen Bevirt, the founder and CEO of Joby, fuel cell technology “could redefine regional travel using hydrogen-electric aircraft.” However, the first flights will begin in 2025 using battery-powered taxis. To date, Joby Aviation has raised two billion dollars and its shareholders include Delta Airlines, Uber and Toyota.
*A company established in 2015 and stemming from the Ulm University in Germany and the DLR aerospace centre.
Do you want to learn more about hydrogen taxis? Then our latest articles on the subject should interest you. You can read all of our articles about taxis here.
Don’t forget that you can also follow us on LinkedIn for more regular content and updates!
Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Mariem Ben Tili
