ZeroAvia has been awarded $3.25 MM in funding by the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop a first-of-a-kind mobile liquid hydrogen (LH₂) refueling truck for heavy-duty applications, including aviation and maritime. Funding for the project comes from the Gas R&D Program administered by the CEC and authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Working at Livermore Municipal Airport, ZeroAvia will begin work this month to design, build, and demonstrate a 10,000-liter mobile LH₂ refueler with sufficient flow rates to refuel in a similar time as traditional jet fuel refills. Hitting this ambitious target will support H₂-powered aircraft in meeting tight turnaround windows, especially in regional transport.

The LH₂ refueler will also be designed to improve on existing energy efficiency in LH₂ applications, including reducing H₂ boil-off to less than 0.1% per day. ZeroAvia is developing H₂ fuel cell propulsion as a solution to tackling the climate impact from aviation. The company plans to support passenger and cargo flights by the end of 2025 with its first H₂-electric engines (ZA600) for 9-19 seat aircraft using gaseous H₂ storage.

To scale H₂ engines to larger commercial aircraft and to enable longer ranges across all aircraft sizes, cryogenic liquid H₂ must be used to reduce the size and weight of the fuel storage systems. ZeroAvia is already developing its larger ZA2000 engine family, with the first high power ground tests of the fully integrated electric propulsion system conducted earlier this year. These larger aircraft – such as the Dash-8-400 76-seat aircraft ZeroAvia is working on with Alaska Airlines and other partners – will require up to 1 ton of LH₂ storage on board to support up to 700 nautical mile range, with target launch in 2027.

The CEC-funded project advances the commercial viability of LH₂ fueled aircraft by supporting advancements in energy performance, cost efficiency and refueling speed. The technology also has potential application in other segments of the transportation sector, including road freight and maritime.