ALTEN Switzerland is sponsoring Cellsius H2, focus project from ETH Zürich students which aims at developing a hydrogen powertrain for a Swiss small aircraft. They are shaping the future of aeronautics!

Cellsius’ vision is to be able to operate aircraft in the future in a climate-neutral, efficient and sustainable manner. To this end, Cellsius Project H2 is researching an alternative hydrogen powertrain that will power a small aircraft in the future!

The powertrain consists of many components that together can get an airplane into the air. To make this a reality, Cellsius Project H2 develops a large part of their components themselves, tailored to the requirements. Thus, the developments range from the design of pressure tanks to the development of their own high-performance inverter up to the own electric motor.

The unique powertrain consists of many technical submodules, all of which must work together in an orderly fashion for our aircraft to take off. The heart of the powertrain is a 68 kW hydrogen fuel cell. It produces the necessary electrical energy for flight. The hydrogen is carried in multiple high pressure tanks with 700 bar. These tanks allow a cruise fight for multiple hours.

Fuel cell system

Hydrogen battery

The new engine will be installed in a Swiss Lightwing AC4. The hydrogen propulsion system should enable a cruise flight of over two hours, or more than 250 km, with 0g CO2 emission!

Cellsius is taking part in the aeronautics revolution, to keep flying in a sustainable way.

Learn more about the project on Cellsius’ website