Bankstown Airport-headquartered zero-emission aircraft designer and manufacturer AMSL Aero says its hybrid electric aircraft Vertiia will be ready for emission-free flight testing within 12 months.
The vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) piloted or autonomous aircraft is under development at Bankstown Airport, 30 kilometres southwest of Sydney, to decarbonise essential air services such as medical transfers, passenger, and freight services.
Vertiia is poised for emission-free flight testing within a year and is designed to fly 1,000 kilometres at a cruising speed of 300 km/h.
Since mid-2024 AMSL Aero says it has used 200 kilograms (kg) of hydrogen, or enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool at atmospheric pressure to successfully power its 100 kW fuel cell test bench, which works as a fully functional mock-up of the hydrogen powertrain for Vertiia.
Image: AMSL Aero
AMSL Aero Hydrogen Lead Simon Coburn said the 200 kg of hydrogen used was sufficient to export 30 kW of electricity into the airport grid for three working weeks and slash the airport’s power bill by about 1.8 MWh.
“Our fuel cell test bench has not only validated our aircraft’s powertrain but has also contributed to the airport’s energy needs,” Coburn said.
AMSL Aero has received deposits for 26 Vertiia aircraft orders from civil customers including 20 from Aviation Logistics, which operates the Air Link, AirMed and Chartair brands covering passenger services, aircraft charter, air freight and aeromedical flights across Australia.
Vertiia customers are aiming for commercial flights following certification and regulatory approval planned in 2028/29.
AMSL Aero Chairman Chris Smallhorn said in the past year the engineering team has successfully demonstrated the practical applications of hydrogen in aviation.
“Our collaboration with Bankstown Airport is instrumental in our ongoing mission to offer longer-distance flights that cut both the cost and carbon footprint of travel across Australia and elsewhere,” Smallhorn said.
AMSL Aero has also deployed the test bench to Wellington Aerodrome in rural NSW for recharging Vertiia between test flights.
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