One of the most fascinating new-generation business aircrafts comes from France and is collaborating very closely with the second-largest airport group in Europe as far as business aviation is concerned so as to launch hydrogen-powered business jets at 3 airports on the French Riviera – and it could happen as soon as the early 2030s.
Beyond Aero is one of those aviation startup names to watch out for. This small company, which was launched in 2020 and now has offices in Toulouse, France, and Los Angeles, USA, has the highly ambitious goal of introducing to the market the first electric business aircraft in the world that’s powered by fuel cells.
One is the name of the flagship aircraft, which is a six- to eight-passenger hydrogen-powered business jets with a promised range of almost 800 nautical miles, or 1,500 km. The winning formula is a combination of fuel cell technology and gaseous hydrogen tank integration, as well as advanced cooling systems.
It is well to be noted that over the past three years, Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur has been working collaboratively with Beyond Aero in order to establish a solid basis for future hydrogen operations.
Nice Côte d’Azur, Cannes Mandelieu, and Golfe de Saint-Tropez are among the most crowded airports for business jets and well-known gateways to some of the most extravagant locations in the world – which makes them an ideal setup for a French-made aircraft that integrates a new-generation propulsion with the comfort of a high-end business jet.
This lengthy preparation phase covers every element of infrastructure, from hydrogen supply, storage, and refueling to operational as well as regulatory integration. It also includes an assessment of a number of typical scenarios that will be progressively refined and modified according to the specificities of each of the three airports.
The top scenario as of now involves compressed gaseous hydrogen that could be generated somewhere in the vicinity of the airport and transported to the airport on a tube trailer. From there, one of two potential refueling systems would take over. Either a fixed dispensing station, which is located near the area where the hydrogen aircraft are positioned, or a mobile refueling vehicle that would move between the dispenser and the planes.
The plan is to start small and grow with time, taking feedback along the way and seeing how hydrogen activities grow. One idea is to utilize the hydrogen that is generated near the airports for other uses as well, thereby helping to expand the local hydrogen ecosystem as time passes.
As for when it will all be up and running, Beyond Aero, along with the Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur group, is hopeful that things could take off by the start of the next decade, when the one business aircraft will have been fully certified.
Notably, the French startup claims that by 2030 hydrogen fuel will also be over 60% cheaper compared to PtL SAF – power-to-liquid Sustainable Aviation Fuel and also 17% less expensive than Jet A-1 – conventional fuel. This would make hydrogen aviation the most cost-effective and operationally effective option in the market.