Ricardo: UK Consortium to Deliver World’s First Truly Green Passenger Carrying Airline Services Using Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology
30.3.2021 02:01:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
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
Former Nokia Technologies C-suite Executive Joins Sisvel to Lead Creation of New Ventures Unit27.10.2026 10:04:00 EET | Press release
Stavros Kyris has joined Sisvel to lead the formation of Sisvel Ventures, which has a wide-ranging remit to explore opportunities outside of Sisvel’s core areas of business. Kyris previously held a number of senior roles at Nokia and from 2019 until earlier this year was Chief Strategy, Financial and Operating Officer of Nokia Technologies. Before that, he spent five years as Chief of Staff to Nokia’s CEO, having formerly worked in corporate business development, strategy and M&A at the company. Sisvel Ventures will identify and develop IP-based business projects that do not sit within Sisvel’s established standard essential patent (SEP) pool licensing operation. It will draw on expertise within the broader company while functioning separately from it. Senior Sisvel executives Matteo Sabattini and Leonardo Saroni will join Kyris in building the new unit. “Sisvel Ventures is an exciting endeavour that I am delighted to help launch,” says Kyris. “Sisvel has a reputation for its bold, ent
Institutional Investors and Wealth Advisors Remain Bullish on Private Markets, With a Sharpened Focus on Liquidity: New Report From BBH Investor Services27.10.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Private markets are growing in importance to investors’ overall portfolios, according to new research from Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH) Investor Services today. In BBH’s second annual Private Markets Investor Survey, over a quarter of investors say more than 30% of their investments will be allocated to private markets strategies in the next five years. Most investors (84%) plan to increase their private markets investments within the next two years, with private equity ranking as the top target for new investment (54%), up 16 points from last year, followed by private credit (44%), up 20 points year-over-year. The survey captures the views of 500 institutional investors and wealth advisors in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan. Liquidity emerges as a top priority for investors in this year’s report. Investors signaled that their preferred window for capital deployment in private markets is four to six years, followed by preference for an even short
Unframe Removes Another Barrier Between AI Capabilities and Adoption27.10.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Unframe, the Applied AI Lab, announced its availability on all three leading cloud marketplaces: AWS Marketplace, Google Cloud Marketplace and Microsoft Marketplace. For enterprises, cloud marketplaces have become the preferred channel for discovering and procuring software. AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft together serve the vast majority of enterprise cloud infrastructure worldwide. Their marketplaces represent a growing share of how organizations purchase technology by consolidating vendor relationships, simplifying contracting and allowing companies to apply existing cloud spend toward new solutions. Being listed across all three is now a key expectation for enterprise-grade software vendors. “Enterprises shouldn’t have to choose between moving quickly on AI and working within the procurement and cloud frameworks they already have,” said Jacquelyn Goldberg, Global VP of Revenue at Unframe. “As an applied AI lab, our job is to close the gap between what AI can do and what enterprises
Ant Group Upgrades LingGuang to 2.0, Turning Its AI Assistant into a Proactive Personal Agent27.10.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Ant Group today announced the launch of LingGuang 2.0, an upgrade that transforms its multimodal AI assistant into a proactive personal agent capable of identifying user needs and managing tasks over time. Moving beyond passive, single-turn interactions, LingGuang 2.0 shifts AI assistance from responding to commands toward continuously identifying needs, following up on tasks, and coordinating everyday affairs on behalf of users. Unlike conventional conversational AI and task-oriented agents, LingGuang 2.0 moves the starting point of AI assistance earlier in the user’s workflow. Instead of waiting for users to issue a command, LingGuang can, with explicit user authorization, draw on connected information and services to spot potential needs, initiate analysis and follow-ups, and alert users when their attention is required. In this way, it evolves from a reactive tool into a personal agent that continuously manages tasks on the user’s behalf. This shift is powered by comprehensive upgr
SES and CANAL+ Strengthen Strategic Partnership Through 204027.10.2026 09:50:00 EET | Press release
SES and CANAL+, the global media and entertainment group, have extended their strategic partnership through 2040 with a multi-year agreement covering capacity across Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. Under the renewed agreement, CANAL+ will leverage SES’s satellite infrastructure across several orbital positions to deliver premium video and pay TV services to a global subscriber base that now exceeds 40 million viewers across 70 countries. "SES has been a trusted partner for more than 30 years, helping us deliver premium content to millions of viewers across Europe and Africa. This new agreement supports our long-term growth and provides the flexibility and reliability required as we continue to expand our international footprint and serve an increasingly diverse subscriber base," said Stéphane Baumier, Chief Technology Officer of CANAL+. "CANAL+ is one of SES's most valued and longest-standing customers. This agreement demonstrates the enduring importance of satellite in reliably deli
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