French firm teams up with JetZero on hydrogen-powered flight
PARIS (Reuters) -A French technology startup unveiled plans on Wednesday to work with clean-aircraft venture JetZero to explore a potential hydrogen-powered variant of its futuristic all-wing design.
The move by SHZ Advanced Technologies is likely to rekindle a debate over the potential for zero-emission flight, six months after Europe's Airbus put the brakes on plans to develop the world's first hydrogen-powered airliner.
California-based JetZero aims to challenge the traditional duopoly of Airbus and Boeing by developing a so-called blended wing-body aircraft, which it claims will be able to cut fuel consumption - and therefore carbon emissions - in half.
JetZero and SHZ now plan to work together under a NASA research programme to design systems capable of storing and distributing liquid hydrogen fuel, which could eliminate carbon emissions altogether and evolve into a variant of JetZero's Z4.
Hydrogen is prized for its carbon-free emissions and high energy related to mass, which makes it lighter than normal fuel. However, it also takes up much more volume and must be cooled to -253 degrees Celsius, making storage a significant challenge.
JetZero's blended wing-body design features a V-shaped fuselage that acts as a wing and reduces friction in the air, rather than the familiar wings and cylindrical fuselage.
"Due to the wider fuselage, the airframe is far more compatible with (liquid hydrogen) fuel tanks without sacrificing passenger seating, as a 'tube and wing' airplane would," SHZ Advanced Technologies said on Wednesday.
Airbus said in February it was slowing down efforts to produce a hydrogen-powered regional plane and dropped a target date of 2035, blaming a lack of supporting infrastructure.
Boeing, by contrast, has been cool on the commercial viability of hydrogen flight altogether.
The concept of a blended wing-body design has been around since the 1940s and led to the U.S. B-2 bomber, as well as the X-48 research project between Boeing and NASA some 18 years ago.
JetZero is revisiting such designs as the aviation industry struggles to meet a target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
Airbus has argued that combining such radical changes to the shape of a plane with an entirely new propulsion system would be too ambitious, and is focusing instead on hydrogen-based fuel cells inside a normal tubular aircraft configuration.
But SHZ Advanced Technologies' co-founder Eric Schulz - a former senior executive at Rolls-Royce and Airbus - said JetZero would approach the task in two phases with the initial focus on a conventionally powered all-wing plane. Any hydrogen-based variant would come in a second step, he told Reuters.
The French firm says it has developed hydrogen tanks that save space by avoiding the usual cylindrical shape needed for pressurised vessels and can fit more easily into the flowing contours of the Z4's fuselage.
JetZero, whose backers include United Airlines, said in June it was on track to fly a full-scale prototype of the revolutionary 250-passenger airplane in 2027.
(Reporting by Tim HepherEditing by Mark Potter)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
RV demand fuels deforestation
Tropical wood demand from some of America's top RV brands is fuelling deforestation on the island of Borneo, home to Asia's last great rainforest, according to a new investigation by environmental NGOs. The recreational vehicle (RV) industry is now the biggest consumer of tropical wood in the United States, UK-based NGO Earthsight and Indonesian NGO Auriga Nusantara said in a report published late Tuesday. They said evidence showed sheets of tropical 'lauan' plywood found in Indonesia were likely being used in the floors, walls and ceilings of RVs produced by major brands like Jayco, Winnebago and Forest River. 'Nature-loving RV owners will be horrified to learn that their hobby risks destroying rainforests,' said Earthsight director Sam Lawson in a press release. 'America's RV giants need to get out of the 1980s and implement the kinds of minimum sustainability standards that other US corporates have had in place for decades.' Indonesia has one of the world's highest rates of deforestation linked to mining, farming and logging, and is accused of allowing firms to operate in Borneo with little oversight. Borneo island has one of the world's largest tracts of rainforest and hosts orangutans, long-nosed monkeys, clouded leopards, pig-tailed macaques, flying fox-bats and the smallest rhinos on the planet. Large tracts of orangutan habitat in Borneo were found to be 'cleared to make way for a plantation of fast-growing timber', the NGOs said. An Indonesian plywood company, PT Kayu Lapis Asli Murni, sourced timber mostly from rainforest in areas the NGOs visited, half of which was then exported to US firms MJB Wood and Tumac Lumber in 2024, they said. MJB Wood is the main lauan plywood supplier to Jayco, while Tumac Lumber supplies to companies such as RV parts maker Patrick Industries, 'whose customers include Thor Industries, Forest River and Winnebago', the report said. The NGOs said it meant it was 'almost certain' that Indonesian tropical wood was being used in the RV supply chain in the United States. None of the companies mentioned replied to the report's authors when asked for comment, it said. Neither the companies nor the Indonesian environment ministry immediately responded to a request for comment. — AFP
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
PlayStation 5 price increase due to US tariffs explained
SAN FRANCISCO: Sony on Wednesday said it is bumping up the price of PlayStation 5 video game consoles by $50 in the United States due to a 'challenging economic environment.' Tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump hike the cost of goods brought into the US, leaving companies like Japan's Sony to decide whether to pass that on to consumers. 'Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,' Sony Interactive Entertainment vice president of global marketing Isabelle Tomatis said in a post. After initially being threatened with a 25 percent hike, Japan negotiated a 15 percent tariff with the Trump administration. 'As a result, we've made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the US.' The new price for PS5 will be $550, with a 'Digital Edition' priced at $500 and a Pro version for $750, according to Tomatis. In May, Sony warned it was considering tweaking prices in the US, estimating that tariffs could wind up costing the company about $680 million in the fiscal year. American companies are feeling the crunch, too. New York-based cosmetics giant Estee Lauder recently estimated the impact of the new tariffs at around $100 million for the 2026 financial year and plans to adjust its prices to offset the additional cost. US snack giant PepsiCo could increase prices of its soft drinks about 10 percent to mitigate effects of US tariffs, particularly those on imported aluminum used to make soda cans, according to trade magazine Beverage Digest. Meanwhile, California-based energy drink maker Monster Beverages is considering raising prices due to a 'complex and dynamic customs landscape,' according to chief executive Hilton Schlosberg. The Commerce Department this week said the US broadened its steel and aluminum tariffs, impacting hundreds more products that contain both metals such as child seats, tableware and heavy equipment. Since returning to the presidency, Trump has imposed tariffs on almost all US trading partners. Though the impact of Trump's tariffs on consumer prices has been limited so far, economists warn that their full effects are yet to be seen. Some businesses have coped by bringing forward purchases of products they expected will encounter tariffs. Others have passed on additional costs to their consumers, or absorbed a part of the fresh tariff burden. - AFP
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Slower sales on the cards for automakers
BIMB Research said near-term sales will be supported by new launches and the rollout of new electric vehicles. PETALING JAYA: Even as vehicle sales are expected to fall this year, automotive players in Malaysia also face price competition from China brands that will weigh on margins, analysts say. BIMB Research, which is 'neutral' on the automotive sector, said in a note that tighter financing and affordability challenges will also hit margins. That said, near-term sales will be supported by new launches and the rollout of new electric vehicles (EV), the research house said. 'The upside includes stronger EV adoption and possible delays in open market value (OMV) excise reforms, which may extend demand momentum despite rising headwinds,' BIMB Research said. MBSB Research, meanwhile, noted that the shift to an OMV-based excise duty for completely knocked-down vehicles – scheduled for January 2026 – may result in 'a degree of early buying' in the second half of this year (2H25). 'Passenger vehicle total industry volume (TIV) should see some support from new model launches in 2H25, while the recent overnight policy rate reduction may help improve buying sentiment. 'Sales momentum is likely to remain strong this month, underpinned by improved stock levels and Merdeka promotions,' MBSB Research said. In July, the TIV rebounded strongly as it rose 27.8% month-on-month (m-o-m) to 70,057 units. The increase in sales was underpinned by broad-based gains across national (41.6% m-o-m) and non-national marques (7% m-o-m). The July sales improvement was driven by a sharp rebound in passenger vehicle sales (29.4% m-o-m to 64,438 units), while commercial vehicle volumes rose at a slower pace (11.8% m-o-m to 5,619 units). As for EVs, total registrations in July fell 15% m-o-m to 2,792 units, marking a declines across all major automotive players. BYD retained market leadership with 870 units, followed by Proton's (686 units) and Tesla (256 units). Despite softer volumes, EV penetration improved to 4.2% from June's 3.9%. On a year-to-date basis, total auto sales in Malaysia declined 4.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 443,777 units, underscoring a broader softening in demand. MBSB Research said the TIV of 443,777 in the January to July period represents 56% of its full-year projection, which is in line with expectations. 'Overall, TIV is expected to ease this year on the back of a strong base. 'Our forecast for this year remains at 792,000 units (down 3% y-o-y), which is largely in line with the Malaysian Automotive Association's estimate of 780,000 units (down 4.5% y-o-y).' Among automotive companies, MBSB Research has a 'buy' call on MBM Resources Bhd , with a target price of RM5.36 a share. On the other hand, BIMB Research has a 'hold' call on MBM and a target price of RM4.30. It also has a 'hold' call on Sime Darby Bhd with a target price of RM1.75 and a 'sell' call on Bermaz Auto Bhd with a target price of 65 sen.
