Hydrogen fuel cell driven Hy4 has flown - MAHEPA announces

Pipistrel Vertical Solutions as the consortium leader of project MAHEPA is proud to announce that technology developed as part of the project has been successfully proven in flight on board the Hy4 aircraft.

In November 2020, despite the COVID19 repercussions and with all safety precautions in place, the Hy4 hydrogen powered hybrid-electric aircraft successfully flew from Maribor airport in Slovenia, achieving a landmark milestone for the MAHEPA project and for the future of clean aviation. By demonstrating technologies and showcasing that long-endurance and safe zero-emission flights are possible, MAHEPA is creating the technological foundation to enable clean, quiet, safe and sustainable flight – making Europe Green Deal’s goals related to aviation one step closer to reality.

With the renovated and optimized fuel cell system technology developed in MAHEPA and in strong cooperation with multiple national projects, the Hy4 became the most powerful hydrogen fuel-cell-driven aircraft ever made, directly flying into the next era of air transport. First qualification tests and data dissemination show that the full redundant Hy4 powertrain architecture allows an upscaling of the modular technology.

MAHEPA consortium of Pipistrel Vertical Solutions, Compact Dynamics, DLR, H2Fly, Politecnico di Milano, TU Delft, University of Maribor and University of Ulm is again demonstrating a pioneering direction towards cleaner air transport in Europe, which will be supported by novel technologies developed in the project.