Ravn Alaska airline signed a letter of intent to convert 30 de Havilland Dash 8s at the Farnborough Air Show. These are to be powered by hydrogen in the future.

The regional airline currently operates eleven turboprop aircraft. These are ten Dash 8-100 and one Dash 8-300. In the future, they no longer want to operate them with kerosene, but with hydrogen. The ZeroAvia project was chosen for this purpose. The first test flights are to be carried out shortly, but it will still take a few years before certification is achieved.

“We want to be at the forefront of zero-emission aviation adoption as FAA-certified technologies come to market. ZeroAvia is making great strides to bring hydrogen-electric propulsion to the Alaskan skies, and we look forward to working together to make green flight a reality,” said Rob McKinney, Chief Executive Officer of Ravn Alaska.

ZeroAvia will provide Ravn with its developing 2000-2 megawatt ZA5 modular hydrogen fuel cell propulsion system. This is designed for turboprop aircraft with 40 to 90 seats and is scheduled to enter service in 2026. The target range is more than 500 NM.