FEV is Working on New Fuel Cell Powertrains for Light Aircraft

Aviation FEV is Working on New Fuel Cell Powertrains for Light Aircraft

2026-06-22 From Stefanie Eckardt 2 min Reading Time

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FEV, a development services provider, is developing new fuel-cell-based propulsion systems for light aircraft and gyrocopters. The goal is to help meet the aviation industry’s requirements for energy density, thermal management, and weight.

For the aviation industry, fuel cell propulsion systems can help improve sustainability. However, their use presents certain challenges.(Image: FEV) — For the aviation industry, fuel cell propulsion systems can help improve sustainability. However, their use presents certain challenges.
(Image: FEV)

“The achievable energy density poses one of the greatest challenges for the use of currently available fuel cell systems in aviation,” explains Dr. Christian Eschmann, Vice President of FEV aerospace. “For an aircraft carrying up to nine passengers, for example, the energy density required is roughly double that of today’s ground-based systems. FEV is working on solutions to significantly increase performance in this area.”

Challenge: Efficiently Cooling Fuel Cell Systems

In addition, there is another challenge—namely, cooling. While internal combustion engines release a large portion of their waste heat directly into the environment, in fuel cell systems this heat must be dissipated almost entirely via the coolant. This, in turn, results in heavier cooling systems, which increase the total weight and—depending on the flight profile—raise hydrogen consumption by up to 30 percent.

Analysis of Various Fuel Cell Powertrains

Solutions must be found for the challenges mentioned. The development service provider is working on this and has analyzed various fuel cell systems, visualizing the results in scatter plots. These enable an objective performance evaluation and form the basis for the targeted further development of the company’s own aviation propulsion systems. In addition, FEV is developing intelligent control concepts that optimize operation in terms of voltage, efficiency, and service life.

Weight-Optimized System Architectures

Weight-optimized system architectures are at the heart of these developments. As part of the BiFoilStack consortium project, the company is collaborating with partners from industry and research to develop foil-based bipolar plates for fuel cells specifically designed for aviation applications. These combine the corrosion resistance of metallic materials with the low weight of graphite. They are manufactured using a precise punching and foil-welding process, which enables weight savings while maintaining the same performance. At the same time, manufacturing costs can be reduced by up to 20 percent.

Decarbonization Through Multiple Approaches

In addition to fuel cell technologies, FEV pursues a technology-neutral development strategy and is working in parallel on hydrogen internal combustion engines, solutions for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), and battery systems. The company develops and tests these technologies at eDLP—the world’s largest independent test center for high-voltage batteries, operated by FEV. (se)

China is not giving up on hydrogen, but is intensifying its efforts. (Image:freely licensed from Pixabay)

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