Universal Hydrogen Co and H3 Dynamics have announced a new partnership in hydrogen aviation. “At H3 Dynamics, we have more than a decade of experience in hydrogen-powered flight, with a focus on powertrains for unmanned—and soon manned—aircraft,” said Taras Wankewycz, founder and CEO of H3 Dynamics. “And as Universal Hydrogen is clearly positioned to lead the market in hydrogen fuel services for aviation, it is natural for our companies to work together to make true zero emissions flight a reality.”
The two companies will leverage their respective strengths to build scale with greater speed in the hydrogen aviation space.
“New industries are seldom built by one individual or one company,” added Wankewycz. “They require coalitions and ultimately entire ecosystems. “
The collaboration will initially focus on the full range of unmanned aircraft, from small drones to large, unmanned cargo delivery, with H3 Dynamics developing and supplying fuel cell powertrain solutions and Universal Hydrogen providing green hydrogen fuel logistics using its modular capsule technology.
The partnership extends to manned aircraft, including eVTOL and other light aircraft segments. The two companies also agreed to collaborate in the regional aircraft market, focusing on new-build regional airliners with a distributed propulsion architecture.
“This partnership is an instant force multiplier for the scale and reach of both companies and will enable us to move faster to offer true zero-emissions solutions across a broad range of aircraft,” said Paul Eremenko, co-founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen Co.
“For this reason, we are also looking at standing up a joint R&D center in Toulouse, France, as Toulouse is a critical talent hub for us both.”
“Energy transition for a complex and expansive sector like aviation requires a whole-value chain approach, where each segment of the hydrogen value chain is ready at the same time,” said Eremenko. “This collaboration between H3 Dynamics and Universal Hydrogen allows us to complete the hydrogen value chain for several rapidly growing aviation segments, and to do it much more quickly.”
H3 Dynamics is engaged in advanced aerial mobility technologies, including zero emission hydrogen-electric propulsion. The company is implementing a sustainable, safety-first 3-phase roadmap, starting with autonomous data services, moving next to autonomous hydrogen cargo, and passenger flight as a final step. The company services clients globally from its 3 regional headquarters in Austin, Singapore, and Paris.
Universal Hydrogen is making hydrogen-powered commercial flight a near-term reality. The company takes a flexible, scalable, and capital-light approach to hydrogen logistics by transporting it in modular capsules over the existing freight network from green production sites to airports around the world. To accelerate market adoption, Universal Hydrogen is also developing a conversion kit to retrofit existing regional airplanes with a hydrogen-electric powertrain compatible with its modular capsule technology.
