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Joby Aviation has tested a first-of-its-kind hydrogen-electric air taxi, and it went record-breakingly well. The aircraft is a modified electric vehicle with six rotors that already has thousands of miles under its belt. The latest demonstration has shown that it can go even farther, flying 840 kilometers (523 miles) over California. And since it used hydrogen, the only emissions directly from the vehicle was water.
The team stated that this is the first forward flight of a hydrogen-powered vehicle that can take off and land vertically. The range of the vehicle was remarkable and it landed with 10 percent of its fuel remaining.
"Traveling by air is central to human progress, but we need to find ways to make it cleaner. With our battery-electric air taxi set to fundamentally change the way we move around cities, we’re excited to now be building a technology stack that could redefine regional travel using hydrogen-electric aircraft," JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, said in a statement.
The vehicle stores 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of liquid hydrogen which is fed to a fuel cell system that produces electricity, water, and heat. The aircraft also has batteries that provide additional power during take-off and landing.
"Imagine being able to fly from San Francisco to San Diego, Boston to Baltimore, or Nashville to New Orleans without the need to go to an airport and with no emissions except water. That world is closer than ever, and the progress we’ve made towards certifying the battery-electric version of our aircraft gives us a great head start as we look ahead to making hydrogen-electric flight a reality," Bevirt continued.
The company is hoping to fly the electric version of the air taxi commercially at some point next year, though more testing and eventual approval will be necessary before the hydrogen-electric version will be available for trips.
