A hydrogen-powered air taxi flew 523 miles emitting only water vapor
Joby Aviation's hydrogen-powered air taxi completes a 523-mile test emitting only water vapor, showcasing eco-friendly travel potential. Hydrogen power offers emission-free flight, aiming to reduce CO2 emissions in aviation.
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A hydrogen-powered air taxi developed by Joby Aviation successfully completed a 523-mile test flight emitting only water vapor, showcasing its potential for environmentally friendly regional travel. The aircraft, originally an electric VTOL prototype, was retrofitted with a liquid hydrogen system to extend its range. Joby's exploration of hydrogen power began with the acquisition of H2Fly in 2022, aiming to revolutionize air travel sustainability. While hydrogen power offers emission-free flight, challenges like production costs and environmental impact persist. Despite these hurdles, hydrogen power presents a promising solution to reduce CO2 emissions in the aviation sector. Joby envisions using hydrogen-electric aircraft to connect cities like Baltimore and Boston or Nashville and New Orleans, complementing their existing electric VTOL models. As the aviation industry explores various alternatives, including electric planes and sustainable jet fuels, a combination of technologies will likely be necessary to curb carbon emissions from air travel in the future.
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15 commentsFor reference, 500 miles is the distance between San Diego and San Francisco. That’s a 90 minute flight that would take closer to 2 1/2 hours with this air taxi. So I suspect that this demonstration is less about any sort of aspiration to replace batteries and fossil fuels with hydrogen, and more a demonstration of an operationally clean burning fuel.
The criticisms that hydrogen is environmentally expensive are valid, but what’s interesting is that the operational use of the vehicle, whether it’s battery or fuel cell, is effectively emissions-free. When the operational fuel is clean, emissions improvements can be centralized. That’s a really big deal.
https://www.jobyaviation.com/news/joby-progresses-next-phase...
They seem intentionally coy about how the 523 miles where flown, seemingly just above Marina, CA. They have requested that flight tracking not be publicly shown on flight aware.
H2 does not make any sense whatever.
Buuut will we ever make it truly make sense for vehicles en masse?
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