The advanced tanks, designed and manufactured by Fabrum, were refuelled at their dedicated liquid-hydrogen test facility located within the airport's renewable energy precinct. This marks the first instance of such refuelling at an international airport in Australasia.
"Our lightweight composite tanks, together with our hydrogen liquefier and refuelling systems, are critical enablers for hydrogen-powered flight. By bringing all the elements together for the first time on site at an international airport-producing, storing, and dispensing liquid hydrogen into composite aviation tanks as a fuel-we're proving that liquid-hydrogen technologies for aircraft are now available and that hydrogen-electric flight will soon be a reality in Australasia." said Christopher Boyle, Managing Director of Fabrum.
Dr Adriano Di Pietro, CEO of AMSL Aero, said: "Vertiia is the world's first eVTOL designed from inception to be powered by hydrogen for long-range, cargo and passenger operations. Vertiia must be as light as possible to achieve its 1,000 km range, 500kg payload and 300 km/h cruising speed. Liquid hydrogen is the lightest zero-emission method of storing energy for long-distance flight; no other technology currently comes close. Today, with Fabrum, we have demonstrated the key steps in that process: from producing liquid hydrogen, to filling our ground transport container, then filling the tanks that we will install to our aircraft before our first liquid hydrogen flights next year. This is a major milestone."
Bob Criner, CEO of Stralis Aircraft, stated: "It's fantastic to see more of Fabrum's hydrogen technologies unveiled and tested. We are working with Fabrum to develop onboard tanks for our fixed-wing test aircraft to supply hydrogen to our hydrogen-electric propulsion system. We're excited to see Fabrum's hydrogen fuel dispensing systems for these onboard tanks proven out in testing. This is a vital step toward our first liquid hydrogen test flights."
Christchurch Airport CEO Justin Watson said, "It's fantastic to welcome aviation industry leaders paving the way for a transition to a low-emissions future here at the airport. Christchurch Airport continues to play a leadership role in advancing zero-emission infrastructure, positioning the airport to support liquid-hydrogen aviation."
Fabrum introduced a proprietary triple-skin composite tank, designed for efficient thermal insulation and fast refuelling, reducing losses and improving refuelling time over double-skin alternatives. AMSL Aero and Stralis Aircraft are both integrating Fabrum's composite tanks into their aircraft to enable long-range hydrogen-powered flights. Stralis expects its hydrogen-electric propulsion system, supplied by Fabrum's tanks, to outperform battery-electric aircraft and deliver substantial savings on operational costs, with test flights planned within six months.
The collaboration benefits from the Hydrogen Flight Alliance in Australia and government support from Australia and New Zealand for regional hydrogen-powered aviation.
Hydrogen is produced on-site through renewable-powered electrolysis, providing a specific energy more than three times higher than sustainable aviation fuel and over 100 times greater than batteries. Hydrogen-electric propulsion offers simpler engine design, lower maintenance costs, and only water vapor emissions.
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