Honeywell Aerospace led alliance makes hydrogen-electric propulsion breakthrough
A Honeywell Aerospace led alliance of 18 European companies has made a significant breakthrough developing a megawatt-class hydrogen-electric propulsion system for future aircraft.
On September 17, 2026, Honeywell Aerospace said under Project NEWBORN, the consortium had successfully integrated individual subsystems into a functional hydrogen power source capable of generating and supplying electrical energy for an aircraft.
The next step will be an integrated ground demonstration of the complete propulsion system, in which the hydrogen power source and batteries will supply electricity to an electric motor driving an aircraft propeller.
To test the hydrogen fuel-cell power source, Honeywell Aerospace developed a dedicated platform to simulate a range of functions of an actual aircraft.
18 companies from 10 European countries
Based at a research center near Prague, it includes its own power source, working fluid distribution systems, electrical systems, a control room, safety equipment and heat rejection systems.
Companies involved in Project NEWBORN, which launched in 2023, include PowerCell, Fraunhofer, Test-Fuchs, Siemens Industry Software, KU Leuven, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and CIRA.
“Project NEWBORN is not only demonstrating new technology, it is demonstrating the ability of European industry, universities and research organizations to work together on ambitious technological visions and turn them into functioning systems,” Miroslav Matoušek, NEWBORN Project Coordinator at Honeywell Aerospace said.
The hydrogen power source system will be transferred to Gorizia, Italy, for the continuation of the project. Final tests in Gorizia will bring together dozens of technologies developed at different locations across Europe into a single functional unit.
The fuel-cell power source will be connected to battery systems from Pipistrel and a megawatt-class electric propulsion system which was jointly developed by the University of Nottingham, Honeywell Aerospace and Pipistrel.
“A range of interconnected technologies have been developed in parallel within Project NEWBORN – from air supply and conditioning systems, hydrogen management and thermal management to electrical distribution, power electronics, control, communications and safety monitoring,” Ondřej Kotaba, Technology Fellow and NEWBORN Technical Lead with Honeywell Aerospace, said. “Bringing all these subsystems together into a single functional unit will represent the culmination of the project.”
Funded by the European Union through EU Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking, NEWBORN hopes to build one of the world’s most powerful hydrogen-electric aircraft propulsion systems of its kind.
RELATED
Honeywell Aerospace eyes acquisitions to ease supply bottlenecks
The post Honeywell Aerospace led alliance makes hydrogen-electric propulsion breakthrough appeared first on AeroTime.
A Honeywell Aerospace led alliance of 18 European companies has made a significant breakthrough developing a megawatt-class hydrogen-electric…
The post Honeywell Aerospace led alliance makes hydrogen-electric propulsion breakthrough appeared first on AeroTime.
