AMSL Aero secures $3M Australian Government funding to pioneer liquid hydrogen aviation for remote and regional Australia

AMSL Aero, the developer of the world-leading hydrogen-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft Vertiia, has secured $3 million in grant funding from the Federal Government to develop and demonstrate liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft for regional and remote Australia.

The two-year project, called Liquid Hydrogen Powered Aircraft for Regional and Remote Australia, is worth $7.56 million in total. It was awarded by the Australian Government Department of Industry Cooperative Research Centres Projects (CRC-P) Program.

AMSL Aero will collaborate with liquid hydrogen company Fabrum, Monash University, and Deakin University to address the technical, regulatory, and safety challenges of hydrogen-powered eVTOL aircraft in real-world environments.

The project will focus on designing safe liquid hydrogen refuelling systems, testing advanced fuel measurement and power distribution during various stages of flight of Vertiia, securing evidence for the development of national regulatory pathways, and demonstrating refuelling procedures integrated with aircraft systems.

AMSL Aero CEO Dr Adriano Di Pietro said: “This funding points to the Australian Government’s support for our mission to revolutionise air mobility for regional and remote Australia. The project objectives reflect our cooperative leadership across the sector and community to decarbonise aviation. ”

Vertiia is a leader in the new generation of aircraft that take off and land like a helicopter but fly fast and smoothly like a fixed-wing aeroplane. AMSL Aero is in an elite group of top-tier global companies to fly an eVTOL in untethered horizontal flight successfully.