Beyond’s BYA-1 Hydrogen-Powered Business Jet Got an Extreme Makeover
This zero-carbon business jet is moving to stage two, after a demonstrator made a short but successful first flight last year to prove the technology’s viability. If the cool-looking BYA-1 is flying commercially by 2030, as French aviation firm Beyond Aero forecasts, it will be the world’s first hydrogen-electric-powered light jet. That would put it in the same class as the Cessna Citation CJ3 and Phenom 300, though with a radical new type of power.
The 67-foot-long aircraft will be able to carry up to eight passengers, with an 800-nautical-mile range and a cruise speed of about 357 mph. Beyond Aero said it would be 12 times more efficient than an all-electric aircraft, while its mixture of hydrogen and oxygen would emit no carbon dioxide.
Today’s announcement of a “refined concept for its light jet,” included multiple technical advances. They include a new electric power train with 90 percent fewer moving parts than the previous design. This clean-sheet design will cut operational costs by more than half.
Beyond Aero wants to certify its hydrogen-powered business jet by 2030, but that’s a very ambitious schedule.
Other changes include a redundant system consisting of two electric engines powered by independent fuel cell systems with a larger, 2.4MW capacity. For safety, the liquid-hydrogen fuel tank is now above the wing box to eliminate high-pressure fuel lines inside the cabin. The system also includes a new thermal management system with electric ducted fans and enhanced digital engine controls for all flight phases.
These changes follow a January announcement that the company had raised $20 million in funding for further development. BeyondAero cofounder Eloa Guillotin says the company has turned to other industries, including both Formula 1 and large-scale automakers, for potential solutions for its fuel-cell technology for an aircraft. “We’ve looked at anything with a fuel cell,” she told Robb Report last year.
The top view of the aircraft shows a cutaway of the hydrogen fuel cell system.
Despite its new tech, the jet will also use off-the-shelf parts to reduce costs and eliminate the need to develop existing technology. “Remember, we’re surfing just one wave of a larger ecosystem—a massive hydrogen initiative led by Airbus, while we’re focusing on business aircraft,” she said. “It’s moving faster than anyone expected. For us, it’s not a question of if, but when.”
The start-up has assembled a team of experts, including former aircraft manufacturer chief executives, structural engineers, and even the former head of general aviation for EASA, the European Union’s equivalent of the Federal Aviation Administration. Stéphane Mayer, former CEO of Daher aircraft, said the BYA-1 is “significantly more mature than the previous version,” noting Beyond Aero “has evaluated multiple configurations and unique constraints to produce a beautiful aircraft.”
