Honeywell Aerospace has integrated the main subsystems of a hydrogen fuel-cell power source at its Brno site in the Czech Republic as part of Project NEWBORN, a European consortium developing a megawatt-class hydrogen-electric aircraft propulsion system. The next phase will move the power source to Gorizia, Italy, for ground demonstration with Pipistrel battery systems and an electric propulsion unit jointly developed with the University of Nottingham and Honeywell Aerospace.
Project NEWBORN began in 2023 and is backed by the EU Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking. The alliance spans 18 companies and research organisations in ten European countries, including PowerCell, Fraunhofer, Test-Fuchs, Siemens Industry Software, KU Leuven, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and CIRA.
Honeywell used a test platform near Prague to simulate aircraft functions while validating electrical performance, leak tightness, fluid operating parameters, subsystem interaction, control algorithms and protection systems. The planned ground run in Italy is intended to connect the hydrogen power source with the broader propulsion chain and demonstrate one of the world’s most powerful hydrogen-electric aircraft propulsion setups for future low-emission aviation applications.