ZeroAvia, a company working on decarbonisation of the entire aviation industry, has taken delivery of a Toyota Mirai fuel cell car to help with ground operations.

Stephen Lawes, fuel cell engineer, ZeroAvia, with the Toyota Mirai and hydrogen plane

Implemented at the firm’s Cranfield base, it will form an important part of the company’s Hydrogen Airport Refuelling System (HARE), said to be the world’s first on-airport zero emission hydrogen production, storage and refuelling system.

ZeroAvia is partnering with the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), as part of the UK government-funded HyFlyer project, which aims to decarbonise medium-range small passenger aircraft using hydrogen. EMEC has developed mobile hydrogen refuelling infrastructure to supply fuel to the aircraft, featuring a self-contained hydrogen production and refuelling capacity.

In addition to developing an integrated hydrogen ecosystem, ZeroAvia plans to offer modular hydrogen-electric aviation solutions for a variety of markets. It is developing the world’s first commercial hydrogen-electric powertrain, enabling longer distance zero emission flights with more passengers and cargo.

ZeroAvia will use the Toyota Mirai for transport around the Cranfield base and other UK locations

Sergey Kiselev, head of Europe, ZeroAvia, commented: “We’re delighted to have a Toyota Mirai on our fleet. With our focus on making hydrogen-powered flight a reality, it makes perfect sense to add a zero-emission car to our ground fleet.”