Ravn Alaska (7H, Anchorage Ted Stevens) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ZeroAvia (Hollister) to retrofit its fleet of Dash 8 turboprops with 30 ZA2000 hydrogen-electric engines.
"We want to be at the forefront of adopting zero-emission aviation once FAA-certified technologies come to market. ZeroAvia is making great strides to bringing hydrogen-electric propulsion to Alaskan skies, and we're looking forward to working together to realize green flight," Chief Executive Rob McKinney said.
The ZA2000 is a 2-5 megawatt powertrain designed for 40-90 seat turboprop planes. ZeroAvia hopes to achieve a range in excess of 500 nautical miles (926 kilometres) and hopes to bring the engine to market in 2026.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows that Ravn Alaska, whose legal name is Northern Pacific Airways, Inc., operates ten DHC-8-100s and one DHC-8-300. The carrier and ZeroAvia underlined that Alaska is particularly well-suited to being an early adopter of hydrogen-electric technology due to its reliance on interstate air transport on a variety of crucial but extremely thin routes.
ZeroAvia counts United Airlines, Alaska Air Group, and British Airways among its equity shareholders. ASL Aviation Holdings has also expressed interest in the manufacturer's zero-emission powertrains.
