Beyond Aero, a French startup developing a hydrogen-powered executive aircraft, announced on March 17, 2025, that it has added several modifications to its original design in order to add technological advances and bring the aircraft closer to certification.
These enhancements cover three different aspects of the aircraft’s propulsion system.
The hydrogen-fuel system will be battery-free and have built-in redundancy, with two separate electric engines, each with its own power source. Beyond Aero has highlighted that this engine configuration, which has been scaled up to 2.4MW of power, can be further scaled up in the future if needed.
The hydrogen storage system has also been modified to enhance safety by mounting it above the wing box structure, improving its chances of surviving a crash. This design also eliminates high-pressure fuel lines inside the pressurized cabin.
Last, but not least, the new design uses an advanced, computer-controlled thermal management system with built-in electric fans which improve the aircraft’s performance in all types of weather and extreme temperatures.
According to Beyond Aero, these changes will also enhance the cost profile of the executive jet the company is developing. This is due in part to the expected lower cost of hydrogen, which Beyond Aero projects to be 65% cheaper than synthetic sustainable aviation fuel and 17% cheaper than Jet A1 by 2030. The French company also aims to deliver a drastic reduction in maintenance costs with its future aircraft, the result of having fewer moving parts and not using a high-temperature turbine.
