Alaska Airlines in Zeroavia hydrogen retrofit deal

Short-haul hydrogen-powered test flights expected in 2023 from Seattle hub with onsite green hydrogen production and refuelling network

Seattle-based Alaska Airlines is partnering with US-UK hydrogen-electric aircraft developer Zeroavia to retrofit its fleet of 76-seat De Havilland Q400 short-haul aircraft with a hydrogen-electric powertrain. Alaska Air’s Seattle hub will act as the starting point for the transition, as the joint venture will need to construct onsite hydrogen production and develop a hydrogen refuelling network to serve an initial round of flight destinations. While Zeroavia has not attempted this size of retrofit before, the company has flown a six-seat prototype and is about to test fly two 20-seat Dornier 228s fitted with 600kW Zeroavia fuel cell hydrogen powertrains. The schedule to have the Alaska Q400s