Ricardo: UK Consortium to Deliver World’s First Truly Green Passenger Carrying Airline Services Using Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology
Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) - the UK SME leading the Project Fresson consortium - announces it will exploit recent advances in hydrogen fuel cell technology to develop a commercially viable, retrofit powertrain solution for the nine-passenger Britten-Norman Islander aircraft.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210329005667/en/
Project Frisson to deliver world's first green passenger aircraft service (Graphic: Business Wire)
Following a rigorous assessment of hydrogen technology innovators, CAeS is delighted to welcome Ricardo UK Ltd and Innovatus Technologies Ltd to the Fresson consortium. Ricardo UK Ltd brings expertise in fuel cell system development and Innovatus Technologies Ltd brings their innovative Scottish Hydrogen Fuel Tank (SHyFT) technology.
Steve Dyke, Managing Director Ricardo Automotive and Industrial EMEA Division said: “We are proud to join the Cranfield Aerospace Solutions consortium to play our part in helping to reduce the carbon footprint for commercial air passengers. We are already working on hydrogen and fuel cell technology, providing clean efficient solutions which reduce carbon and noxious emissions across a wide range of sectors. Our work for the Fresson consortium will enable us to consolidate and grow our hydrogen fuel cell and propulsion capability, so that Ricardo can achieve its ambition of becoming a world-leader in hydrogen and fuel cell services and solutions and help accelerate net zero transportation.”
Innovatus Technologies Ltd leads the field in next generation ultralightweight hydrogen tank design exploiting patented cellular core composite techniques. This is critical to the successful integration and exploitation of hydrogen fuel cell power systems in applications across aerospace, automotive, industrial, and marine sectors.
Ruan Swart, Chief Executive Officer Innovatus Technologies Ltd said: ““We are proud in being selected to join the Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, ‘Project Fresson’, consortium. Our unique and innovative SHyFT solution is game-changing in bringing zero carbon fuel cell energy to commercial reality in the transport sector. Project Fresson showcases important Scottish innovation and next generation hydrogen tank manufacturing in the UK.”
Project Fresson will deliver an emissions-free (zero CO2), hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered flying demonstrator by September 2022. Having completed a comprehensive evaluation of technologies and configurations for sustainable aircraft propulsion, the Fresson team concluded that hydrogen fuel cell technology is the optimum solution to meet environmental, regulatory and operational requirements for this size of aircraft, enabling zero carbon emissions and reducing operating costs. This has presented the Fresson consortium, which includes Britten-Norman and Cranfield University, with an opportunity to deliver an enhanced technology programme that surpasses the original demonstrator concept.
Paul Hutton, Chief Executive Officer, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions said: “This is incredibly important for the Project Fresson Team but also for everyone else around the world interested in zero emissions flight. This project can deliver the world’s first truly “green” passenger carrying airline services. The whole team is proud of what Project Fresson has achieved so far and excited about what is to come. I am very thankful for the support of the ATI and our investors for making this ground-breaking work a reality.”
Jenny Kavanagh, Chief Strategy Officer, Cranfield Aerospace Solutions added: “Covid-19 has caused the biggest crisis in aviation’s history. It’s important that, as the sector builds back better, it does so with sustainability at its heart. Project Fresson is more than just a technology demonstrator; it has one focus above all others: real operational and commercial viability.”
Project Fresson is supported by the ATI Programme, a joint Government and industry investment to maintain and grow the UK’s competitive position in civil aerospace design and manufacture. The programme, delivered through a partnership between the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Innovate UK, addresses technology, capability and supply chain challenges.
As a result of these changes, there is now no longer a need for the Rolls-Royce element of the aircraft programme. It is therefore Rolls-Royce’s intention to withdraw from Project Fresson and the consortium is going through the necessary steps for this to happen. We thank Rolls-Royce for its contribution to Project Fresson and wish its team well. Rolls-Royce will continue to actively research the use of hydrogen in aviation and this decision in no way reflects its overall view of hydrogen as a potential technology.
Ends
Notes to editors
- To follow the progress of Project Fresson, visit the microsite: www.projectfresson.uk or follow on Twitter @projectfresson.
- Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) is an aerospace market leader in rapid prototyping of new aerospace concepts, modifications to existing aerospace platforms and integration of cutting-edge technologies to meet the most challenging issues facing the industry today. CAeS is the wholly owned commercial arm of Cranfield University. Visit: www.cranfieldaerospace.com
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210329005667/en/
Contact information
Media contacts
For Cranfield Aerospace Solutions:
Telephone: +44 (0) 1234 754046
Email: enquiries@cranfieldaerospace.com
For Ricardo
Kathryn Bellamy
Communications Manager
Ricardo Automotive & Industrial EMEA Division, and Performance Products Division
Email: kathryn.bellamy@ricardo.com
Telephone: +44(0)7921 941824
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
With 40% of Agentic AI Projects Predicted to Fail, Leading Software Developer Says Compliance Is the One Place Where Agentic AI Will Thrive2.12.2025 02:01:00 EET | Press release
The CEO of one of the world’s leading global compliance software developers, Ideagen, has today (December 2, 2025) said compliance represents the one domain where autonomous AI will succeed – despite technology insights company Gartner® warning "… over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027”. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251201511477/en/ Ben Dorks, Ideagen CEO Speaking at the launch of their own agentic AI platform Ideagen Mazlan, Ben Dorks said: “Autonomous AI will succeed in compliance because failure is measurable, stakes are high and outcomes are binary. “AI that continuously monitors jurisdictional or industry specific compliance frameworks, detects patterns across thousands of records, raises actions for others to follow, flags gaps before audits, autonomously? That's agentic. It will literally save lives and is the most transformative shift in protecting people, products and p
VeriSilicon’s NPU IP VIP9000NanoOi-FS has Achieved ISO 26262 ASIL B Certification2.12.2025 02:00:00 EET | Press release
VeriSilicon (688521.SH) today announced that its NPU IP VIP9000NanoOi-FS has successfully achieved ISO 26262 ASIL B certification, marking a significant milestone in the functional safety capabilities of the company’s neural network processing unit portfolio. This IP features an architecture streamlined for seamless SoC integration, delivering high-quality inference with low power consumption and a compact silicon footprint. The certificate was issued by SGS-TÜV Saar, an international testing, inspection and certification institution. As part of VeriSilicon’s VIP9000 series, the VIP9000NanoOi-FS IP is designed for automotive and edge AI applications, providing high-performance neural network processing with a safety-compliant architecture. The IP supports a wide range of AI inferencing models including Large Language Models (LLMs) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), with hardware-accelerated AI inference, enabling real-time applications such as object and scene detection, augment
UMA Launches from Europe to Shape the Global Future of Physical AI2.12.2025 00:52:00 EET | Press release
UMA (Universal Mechanical Assistant), a new robotics intelligence company founded by former leaders from Tesla, Google DeepMind, Nvidia and Hugging Face, launches today with a clear goal: to bring advanced AI into the physical world and build humanoid robots ready for real work, in real environments, at scale. UMA’s founders were instrumental in shaping the last decade of breakthroughs in deep learning, robotics and open-source AI. They are convinced that the next era of artificial intelligence won’t unfold on screens, it will happen in warehouses, hospitals, labs, factories and homes, where machines must face friction, unpredictability and human complexity. UMA is built for this transition: from digital intelligence to physical autonomy. AI Is Moving Off the Screen and into the World The past ten years gave rise to generative models, multimodal systems and language-based intelligence. The next decade will be defined by robotics, powered by an AI that can see, move, manipulate and make
FlightSafety International Appoints Eric Hinson as Chief Executive Officer2.12.2025 00:00:00 EET | Press release
FlightSafety International Inc. today announced the appointment of Eric Hinson as chief executive officer, effective immediately. Hinson will succeed former president Barbara Telek who recently announced her retirement. Hinson’s appointment marks a return to FlightSafety. He served as an executive vice president from 2009 to 2012 before leaving to be the president and CEO of Simcom International, Inc. Hinson started his aviation career as a naval aviator flying tactical aircraft in training, fleet, and operational test squadrons. Today, he is an active ATP-rated pilot with more than 5,000 total flight hours. He brings a unique operational perspective to the position—one that blends executive leadership with firsthand experience. In addition to FlightSafety and Simcom, Hinson has served in a variety of senior leadership positions at leading aviation companies, including Honeywell, Gulfstream, and Piaggio Aerospace. He also served as a board member of the General Aviation Manufacturer As
Ubigi Voted Most Reliable eSIM for Mobile Professionals According to Latency Report 20251.12.2025 17:13:00 EET | Press release
Ubigi, a pioneer in eSIM solutions for travellers and connected professionals, has been ranked number one worldwide for connection quality according to the Latency Report 2025. This independent study evaluates eSIMs based on three key criteria: latency, jitter and packet loss. Thanks to its cutting-edge international network infrastructure, Ubigi has established itself as the benchmark for reliability for mobile professionals. Its architecture is based on seven Packet Gateways (P-GWs) spread across Europe, Asia and the Americas, allowing data to transit through the Internet point closest to the user. The result: latency reduced by a factor of two to five depending on the area and optimal stability for video conferencing, VPN and cloud services. Ubigi's performance, validated by the Latency Report 2025, stands out: Average latency: 35 ms in Europe, 92 ms in Asia; Jitter: only 5 ms; Packet loss: < 0.2%, one of the best reliability ratings measured. These results, confirmed by tests in Li
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom