The test was conducted at Fabrum’s dedicated liquid-hydrogen facility at Christchurch Airport, developed in partnership with the airport’s renewable energy precinct.
Fabrum designed and manufactured the advanced composite tanks for AMSL Aero and Stralis Aircraft. The successful refuelling demonstrates the readiness of liquid-hydrogen systems for aviation and paves the way for upcoming flight trials.
Christopher Boyle, Managing Director of Christchurch-based Fabrum, said: “Our lightweight composite tanks, together with our hydrogen liquefier and refuelling systems, are critical enablers for hydrogen-powered flight. By bringing all the elements together for the first time on site at an international airport – producing, storing, and dispensing liquid hydrogen into composite aviation tanks as a fuel – we’re proving that liquid-hydrogen technologies for aircraft are now available and that hydrogen-electric flight will soon be a reality in Australasia.”
Dr Adriano Di Pietro, CEO of Sydney-based AMSL Aero, developer of the hydrogen-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft Vertiia, noted: “Vertiia is the world’s first eVTOL designed from inception to be powered by hydrogen for long-range operations. Today, with Fabrum, we have demonstrated the key steps in that process: from producing liquid hydrogen, to filling our ground transport container, then filling the tanks that we will install to our aircraft before our first liquid hydrogen flights next year. This is a major milestone.”
Bob Criner, CEO of Brisbane-based Stralis Aircraft, added: “We are working with Fabrum to develop onboard tanks for our fixed-wing test aircraft to supply hydrogen to our hydrogen-electric propulsion system. We’re excited to see Fabrum’s hydrogen fuel dispensing systems for these onboard tanks proven out in testing. This is a vital step toward our first liquid hydrogen test flights.”
Fabrum has unveiled a triple-skin composite aviation fuel tank – the culmination of over two decades of R&D in cryogenics and composites. The tank design offers enhanced insulation and rapid refuelling, with up to 70% faster refuelling times and an 80% reduction in boil-off losses compared with conventional systems.
AMSL Aero received composite onboard tanks developed by Fabrum, which will be installed on its Vertiia aircraft for long-range hydrogen-electric flight. Stralis Aircraft showcased its cryogenic Dewar and composite onboard tanks that will power its hydrogen-electric propulsion system, offering up to ten times the range of battery-electric alternatives and significantly lower operating costs than fossil-fuel systems.
