A hydrogen aircraft and EASA certification

The declared challenge in hydrogen aviation has moved from propulsion to thermal management. TAT Technologies is now working with French aerospace startup Beyond Aero on the cooling system of the hydrogen-electric business aircraft the company is designing for 800-mile flights.

The announcement does not mention the basis on which the aircraft will be certified. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency held in Cologne, in December 2024, the first international workshop on the challenges and future processes for certifying hydrogen-powered aircraft, with the stated aim of building a certification approach supported by the whole community.

Solving cooling now brings the company to the regulator with a mature solution, and whoever arrives that way helps shape the requirement instead of adapting to it. Until the certification basis closes, though, the schedule depends on a third party.

The useful window runs from EASA's workshop to the publication of the special condition, and that is where finished engineering becomes regulatory advantage.