Sydney, Australia-based charter operator and corporate jet management company FalconAir has agreed to partner with Aviation H2, the company behind Australia's first hydrogen-powered aircraft.

According to the terms of the agreement, FalconAir is offering access to its Sydney Bankstown airport hangar, facilities and operating licences to Aviation H2 so it can begin building the aircraft. FalconAir will help acquire the test engines and aircraft that will be used to deliver the project, and will provide specialist and licensed aircraft maintenance engineering, piloting and hangarage. It will also help Aviation H2 communicate with aviation authorities and accelerate the certification process.

“This marks a monumental step towards developing a technology that will lead to the decarbonisation of the aviation industry, which contributes 2.5 per cent to global emissions,” says director Dr Helmut Mayer. “We now have a hangar, options for purchasing an aeroplane and a clear plan for how we want to build the plane.

“In the next 12 months, we intend to convert a jet engine for testing, then modify a Falcon 50 so it runs on green hydrogen. FalconAir has extensive experience in dealing with these aircraft and a global network of relationships, which will prove instrumental in purchasing both the aircraft and the test engine. Its team will also be able to provide assistance in maintenance engineering and guide us on accelerating the approval process from aviation authorities.”

Aviation H2 has launched a capital raise via the online platform VCEX to fund the purchase of test engines and the construction of its first modification prototype.

After recently completing its feasibility study, which outlines a clear path towards building one of the world's first hydrogen-fuelled aircraft, Aviation H2 says it is on track to having an aircraft in the sky by the middle of 2023.

Once the test flight is successful in the middle of 2023, Aviation H2 says it will have a patentable method for modifying aircraft so they can operate on carbon-free fuel. It will quickly seek to certify and commercialise this product via a planned public listing on a major exchange in Q4 of 2023.