ZeroAvia and Hybrid Air Vehicles to Collaborate on Zero Emission Airlander
- Joe Breitfeller
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
Hybrid Air Vehicles has today announced a new collaboration with ZeroAvia to explore equipping Hybrid Air’s Airlander 10 Airship with ZeroAvia hydrogen-electric ZA600 powertrains.
On Monday (November 10, 2025), Hybrid Air Vehicles announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to partner on development of a hydrogen-electric variant of Airlander 10. Airlander 10 is a new type of hybrid aircraft that uses a combination of aerostatic lift, aerodynamic lift, and vectored thrust, with a 10 ton payload and maximum range of 4,000 nautical miles. The first Airlander 10 will be powered by four diesel engines, providing an emissions reduction of up to 90 percent when compared with comparable capacity aircraft. The introduction ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric propulsion solution will deliver full zero-emission inflight operations carrying over 100 passengers, as well as reduced maintenance costs. With ample space for hydrogen storage in the hull, the Airlander represents an excellent option for adopting the first generation of certified hydrogen technologies that are already close to market entry.
In Monday’s announcement, Hybrid Air Vehicles’ CEO, Tom Grundy, said,
“ZeroAvia has led the development of hydrogen-electric propulsion systems and made impressive progress commercially, technically and with regulators. Our intention has always been to offer our customers a fully zero-emission variant of the Airlander, for efficiency and environmental reasons, and this partnership with ZeroAvia will help us in this direction.”
Also commenting on the new airship collaboration, ZeroAvia’s Founder and CEO, Val Miftakhov, said,
“Airlander is another exciting airframe for line-fit of our powertrains as it can open up a whole new market in air travel due to its range, efficiency and ability to operate from almost anywhere. Like ZeroAvia, Hybrid Air Vehicles is an aerospace innovator with exciting manufacturing and growth plans for the UK that can deliver hundreds of well-paid jobs in different regions in the UK.”
ZeroAvia’s first generation 600kW hydrogen-electric powertrain, the ZA600, has already passed several regulatory milestones, secured hundreds of pre-orders and signed up launch customer airlines who are working to embed the system into more traditional fixed-wing aircraft for lower cost and more environmentally friendly flying. The company has already conducted flight tests of a prototype onboard a 19-seat aircraft.
ZeroAvia is a leader in the transition to a clean aviation future by developing electric propulsion technologies, which will deliver lower costs and emissions, reduced noise, energy independence and increased connectivity. The company is developing hydrogen-electric (fuel cell-powered) engines for existing commercial aircraft segments and also supplying hydrogen and electric propulsion component technologies for new electric air transport applications. ZeroAvia has submitted its first full engine for up to 20 seat airplanes for certification, and is working on a larger powertrain for 40–80 seat aircraft, with significant flight test and regulatory milestones achieved with the U.S. FAA and UK CAA.
UK-based Hybrid Air Vehicles Limited (HAV) is a leader in advanced, sustainable aircraft technologies and the company behind Airlander, a family of ultra-efficient aircraft capable of delivering multi-day, efficient flight across travel and tourism, logistics, regional mobility, and communications & surveillance. Hybrid Air’s first production aircraft, the Airlander 10, is capable of carrying 100 passengers, a ten ton payload of freight, or a combination of both. Airlander 10’s production at a purpose-built factory in South Yorkshire will be the center of a green advanced manufacturing boom in the region. Additional production sites are currently under consideration in the U.S and other global locations.
Source: Hybrid Air Vehicles
