Hydrogen Flight Alliance announces six new members

Published by Jocelyn Sticklen at CQUniversity on behalf of the Hydrogen Flight Alliance

A Queensland-based industry alliance working towards Australia’s first commercial emissions free hydrogen flight has announced that six new member organisations have joined the Hydrogen Flight Alliance (HFA), bringing the number of members to sixteen.

The new members of the alliance are AMSL Aero, Fabrum, Fortescue, Hypersonix, Royal Flying Doctors Service Queensland Section (RFDSQ), and Wellcamp Airport. 

The organisations will join founding alliance partners in developing an Australian hydrogen flight ecosystem with plans already underway for Australia’s first hydrogen-electric flights to take place in 2025, by Stralis Aircraft’s Bonanza A36-HE and AMSL Aero’s Vertiia. 

Stralis Aircraft are also working with their launch customer Skytrans Airlines to operate a future commercial route between Brisbane Airport and Gladstone airport using a 15-seat Stralis B1900D-HE aircraft. 

HFA Chair and Head of Sustainability for Brisbane Airport, Jess King said that the addition of new members to the alliance would increase the HFA’s capacity and expertise. 

“Green hydrogen has the potential to deliver zero emission flights, however, there are challenges when it comes to availability, scale, cost and infrastructure. 

“The new HFA members bring a wealth of experience to the table as leaders in policy, systems, manufacturing, production, flight management, and airport infrastructure”, said Ms King. 

HFA Vice-Chair and Director of CQUniversity’s Centre for Hydrogen and Renewable Energy, Paul Hodgson said that the collective experience of members would also help when it comes to industry research and innovation, as well as education and training. 

“Adding to the HFA’s collective experience will help to bring about a more holistic understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing this emerging industry. 

“Working together and combining knowledge helps us to understand where research and development priorities need to be directed. 

“It also allows us to identify education and training needs for existing and future workforces, so they possess the skills needed to support emission free air transport,” said Mr Hodgson. 

Since being established 18 months ago, the HFA has been working on the hydrogen supply chain including production, storage and transport; understanding airport operational and regulatory requirements; delivering hydrogen awareness and safety training; providing submissions on government consultations and policy development; supporting technology development and testing; and planning the training and development needs for airline staff, maintenance personnel and pilots. 

Founding members of the alliance include Stralis Aircraft, Skytrans Airlines, Aviation Australia, Brisbane Airport, BOC, CQUniversity, Gladstone Airport, Griffith University, H2 Energy Company and QUT. 

Quotes attributable to AMSL Aero: 

"AMSL Aero is proud to be a part of the HFA, working with like-minded organisations to help decarbonise aviation. As the designer and manufacturer of the long range eVTOL Vertiia, AMSL is leading the way for this application of liquid hydrogen." 

Quotes attributable to Fabrum: 

“Fabrum is a world leader in cryogenic technology, and we have strong interests in liquid hydrogen production, storage and refuelling. We are excited to join a group of forward thinkers and actionists at the HFA. 

“We are looking forward to doing some meaningful and impactful work with our peers that will drive the adoption of liquid hydrogen in aviation.” 

Quotes attributable to Hypersonix: 

“Hypersonix is a global leader in sustainable hypersonic flight technology, creating aircraft that fundamentally disrupt the way we fly to space and around the world. 

“The Hypersonix SPARTAN scramjet engine is fuelled by hydrogen to achieve the high hypersonic flight speeds and long flight durations that give it a competitive edge. 

“The Hypersonix team are excited to join the HFA to share with and learn from the HFA’s collective hydrogen experience and help drive demand for hydrogen flight technology in Australia.” 

Quotes attributable to RFDSQ: 

“The leadership team at the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section) (RFDS) have a focus on sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and greenhouse gas emission reduction.

“Exploring various initiatives to reduce our aviation emissions, such as hydrogen propulsion, may assist the RFDS (Queensland Section) in enhancing our climate-related sustainability performance while continuing to deliver the highest quality healthcare to those communities who depend on us. 

“Membership with the HFA is one avenue towards future-proofing components of our organisation and as we approach our centenary, continues our commitment to innovation in aircraft technology.” 

Media Contact:     

Paul Hodgson, HFA Vice-Chair, 0431 882 911

Bob Criner, Co-Founder and CEO, Stralis Aircraft, 0402 836 268