Hydrogen-Powered HY4 Rolled Out
A consortium of European companies and organizations rolled out a hydrogen-powered research aircraft Friday that they hope will provide the technical bedrock for commercial transport aircraft carrying up to 40 passengers. The airplane is called the HY4 and was displayed briefly at a hangar at the Stuttgart Airport.
Although few details were offered in the German-only press materials, the HY4 appears to be based on Pipistrel Aircraft’s innovative Taurus G4 which married two of the company’s electric gliders into a twin-boom planform with a single electric motor in the center section wing. The G4 won the $1.35 million NASA Green Flight Challenge award in 2011. Pipistrel, which leads the world in the production of electric aircraft, is part of the HY4 consortium.