Zoomi Life

The Antares DLR H2 is the first manned hydrogen fuel-cell aircraft to take flight, totally unassisted, in history. While hydrogen fuel-cell aircraft have flown before, the DLR H2 is the first to do so both without a hybrid engine and without an assist from another airplane to get airborne.

Read More: First Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft Takes to the Skies

While a lot of attention is put onto cars and trucks in electric transportation, the field of aviation is seeing its share of innovation too. We’ve covered light aviation with the ElectricFlycer C and other prototypes and planned technologies in electric airplanes.

Read More: Piccard’s Solar Plane Debuts - Will Fly Around the World

The ElectraFlyer C is an electric ultralight plane is a kit craft available, right now, for $21,000. It has a flight range of about 2 hours and debuted at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh.

Read More: ElectraFlyer-C All-Electric Mini Plane “Cheaper Than Driving”

The United States Navy has announced plans to build a hydrogen fuel-cell powered UAV, with research already beyond the developmental stage. The first test flight of this ground-breaking machine will be this spring.

Read More: Navy Announces Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Plans

The Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California, will be hosting the Electric Aircraft Symposium on April 24th. It’s an all-day affair featuring speakers like Dr. Yi Cui (nanowire batteries), Sebastian Thrun (autonomous vehicles and AI) and others in various fields relating to EVs–especially airborne ones.

Read More: Electric Flight Symposium Coming in April

Prop (propeller) planes can be electric. This has already been proven more than once. So why not power it by fuel cells for greater range?

That’s the idea behind ENFICA-FC. They are designing a fuel cell system to power electric prop planes used to fly city-to-city by private pilots, executives, and small cargo flyers. Pretty cool idea!

Read More: ENFICA-FC: Designing Fuel-Cell Powered Inter-City Aircraft