American Airlines entered into a conditional purchase agreement with hydrogen-electric aircraft developer ZeroAvia for 100 hydrogen-electric engines. The engines are intended to power regional jet aircraft with inflight emissions save for water vapour.
Furthermore, American has increased its investment in ZeroAvia, following its initial investment into the company in 2022. It has also now participated in ZeroAvia's Series C funding, though the amount is undisclosed. It raised a total of $116 million for its Series C funding round held in November 2023.
American’s chief sustainability officer Jill Blickstein commented: ""We are focused on playing our part to advance and scale a variety of decarbonisation solutions – whether that be offtake agreements for SAF, contrail avoidance research, or working with ZeroAvia on new propulsion technologies like hydrogen-electric engines.""
ZeroAvia is developing hydrogen-electric (fuel cell-powered) engines for commercial aircraft, which offer the potential for close to zero inflight emissions. The company is flight testing a prototype for a 20-seat plane and designing an engine for larger aircraft such as the CRJ-700, which American operates on certain regional routes. American's CRJ-700 has a 65-seat configuration.
""Advancing the transition of commercial aviation to a low-carbon future requires investments in promising technologies, including alternative forms of propulsion,"" said American CEO Robert Isom. ""This announcement will help accelerate the development of technologies needed to power our industry and uphold our commitment to make American a sustainable airline so we can continue to deliver for customers for decades to come.""
The engine agreement follows the two parties signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2022 in which American were provided with the opportunity to order up to 100 of ZeroAvia's hydrogen-electric engines.
""In signing this purchase agreement and furthering its investment, American is supporting our mission of innovation for clean aircraft propulsion and it's a good signal that ZeroAvia is delivering on our technology roadmap,"" said ZeroAvia founder and CEO Val Miftakhov.
ZeroAvia's 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. Its only emission - low-temperature water vapour - along with its lower intensity electrical systems offer ""significant cost savings"" for American.
Miftakhov commented: ""The solutions that can serve the largest airlines are within reach, and the clean future of flight is coming.""
American is committed to achieving net-zero by 2050. This recent engine order will further facilitate this goal. Furthermore, it is undergoing a fleet renewal effort to improve its fuel efficiency, claiming to currently have the ""youngest mainline fleet of any major US network carrier"".
American has made investments in sustainability, including finalising an offtake agreement with low-carbon sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producer Infinium and becoming the first customer of Graphyte’s carbon removal process.
American commits to 100 ZeroAvia hydrogen-electric engines
