Octopus Hydrogen to supply green hydrogen to zero emission aviation pioneer ZeroAvia

• Octopus Hydrogen to supply ZeroAvia with 100 per cent green hydrogen
• Green hydrogen to power ZeroAvia’s innovative HyFlyer II programme, which seeks to develop a certifiable hydrogen-electric powertrain that can power airframes carrying up to 19 passengers

London, August 26th, 2021: Octopus Hydrogen, Octopus Energy Group’s newly established hydrogen arm, and hydrogen aviation pioneer ZeroAvia today announce a partnership agreement. Octopus Hydrogen will provide 100 per cent green hydrogen to ZeroAvia’s R&D centre at Cotswold Airport in Kemble during the testing, certification and first commercial operations of its zero emission hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrain technology.

ZeroAvia will supplement on-site electrolysis hydrogen production with supply from Octopus Hydrogen in order to power its HyFlyer II project – a UK Government-backed programme to develop a certifiable 600kW hydrogen-electric fuel cell powertrain which will power a 19-seat aircraft with 500 nautical mile range.

ZeroAvia plans to bring this powertrain technology to market by 2024, enabling early adoption of commercial zero emission flights. Octopus Hydrogen will provide more than 250 kilograms of green, fuel cell grade, high pressure hydrogen per day for delivery into ZeroAvia’s mobile refueling unit.

Aviation is a key future use case for green hydrogen – as recognised in the UK Government’s Hydrogen Strategy. ZeroAvia and partners in HyFlyer projects have already developed the Hydrogen Airport Refueling Ecosystem (HARE) – inclusive of an on-site electrolyser. This system was used to power the breakthrough flight testing programme of a six-seat Piper Malibu aircraft as part of HyFlyer I and is in continued use as part of HyFlyer II. The company identified that for the larger programme, an additional ready supply of green hydrogen was necessary to supplement on-site production.

Octopus Hydrogen is a new company within the Octopus Energy Group, bringing to market a locally distributed ‘green hydrogen as a service’ proposition for heavy goods transportation, energy storage, industrial applications and aviation to accelerate those sectors’ transition to a clean and zero-carbon future.

William Rowe, Founder and CEO of Octopus Hydrogen, comments:

“We started Octopus Hydrogen to deliver 100 per cent green hydrogen to those sectors that cannot be decarbonised through batteries alone. Aviation is a perfect use case for green hydrogen and we are delighted to be supporting ZeroAvia over the coming years with the supply of high pressure, pure and zero carbon hydrogen.”

“Global aviation accounts for around 2 per cent of global human-induced CO2 emissions. So finding a way to maintain the benefits of flight without destroying our planet is a hugely exciting opportunity and critical for the UK to achieving Net Zero.”

Sergey Kiselev, VP Europe at ZeroAvia, says:

“In order to achieve a commercially available certified zero emission hydrogen-electric aircraft powertrain we need large amounts of 100 per cent green hydrogen and we are pleased to work with a UK-leader in this field. Hydrogen-electric aviation is the only practical path to decarbonising flight at scale, as well as removing other harmful emissions from aviation that contribute to global warming.”

-ENDS -

Notes to editors

Press contact

Christina Hess

E: christina.hess@octoenergy.com

T: +44 2045308369

Hoda Awad

E: ZeroAvia@madano.com

T: +44 20 7593 4000

About Octopus Hydrogen

Octopus Hydrogen, an Octopus Energy Group company, is positioned to supply ‘green hydrogen as a service’ for heavy goods transportation, energy storage, industrial applications and aviation in UK, Europe and Australia, with the first kilos of green hydrogen to be sold in 2021.

The intent is to remove the infrastructure cost and complexity from the end user and accelerate the adoption of green hydrogen as a fuel. Octopus Hydrogen will bring Octopus Energy’s unrivalled customer centric approach to the green hydrogen supply market.

With the recent acquisition of Octopus Renewables and the world leading Kraken platform, the Group is uniquely positioned to drive down costs and help customers drive the transition to a competitive and 100% green economy.

For more information, please check out our website.

About ZeroAvia

ZeroAvia is a leader in zero-emission aviation, focused on hydrogen-electric aviation solutions to address a variety of markets, initially targeting 500 -mile range in 910-1920 seat aircraft used for commercial passenger transport, cargo, agriculture, and more. Based in the UK and USA, ZeroAvia has already secured experimental certificates for its two prototype aircraft from the CAA and FAA, passed significant flight test milestones, and is on track for commercial operations in 2024. The company’s expanding UK operations are supported by grants from UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute and Innovate UK, and ZeroAvia is part of the UK Prime MinisterGovernment’s Jet Zero Council.

For more, please visit ZeroAvia.com, follow @ZeroAvia on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.