- Hydrogen-electric program builds on technology developed by
Joby subsidiary H2Fly, acquired in 2021, and forms part of Joby’s
future technology roadmap
- Joby’s hydrogen-electric, vertical take-off and landing
demonstrator aircraft completes landmark 523 mile flight, with
water as the only by-product
- Flight demonstrates potential for emissions-free regional
travel
- Hydrogen-electric program supported through Joby’s partnership
with the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY), a next generation aviation
company, today announced it has successfully flown a
first-of-its-kind hydrogen-electric air taxi demonstrator 523
miles, with water as the only by-product. The aircraft, which takes
off and lands vertically, builds on Joby’s successful
battery-electric air taxi development program, and demonstrates the
potential for hydrogen to unlock emissions-free, regional journeys
that don’t require a runway.
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the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240711864329/en/
On June 24, 2024, Joby’s
hydrogen-electric technology demonstrator aircraft completed a
523-mile flight above Marina, California, with no in-flight
emissions except water. Photo Credit: Joby Aviation
JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO, Joby, said: “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.
“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.
“The vast majority of the design, testing and certification work
we’ve completed on our battery-electric aircraft carries over to
commercializing hydrogen-electric flight. In service, we also
expect to be able to use the same landing pads, the same operations
team, and Joby’s ElevateOS software that will support the
commercial operation of our battery-electric aircraft.”
The landmark test flight, believed to be the first forward
flight of a vertical take off and landing aircraft powered by
liquid hydrogen, was completed last month using a converted Joby
pre-production prototype battery-electric aircraft fitted with a
liquid hydrogen fuel tank and fuel cell system. It landed with 10%
of its hydrogen fuel load remaining.
Jacob Wilson, (Acting) Branch Chief, AFWERX Agility Prime, said:
"Agility Prime has been very supportive of hydrogen-powered
aircraft development and testing as it aligns with the program’s
goals to advance transformative vertical lift technologies and
broader Department of Defense operational energy goals of energy
substitution and diversification, and energy demand reduction."
"Joby is a stellar example of why California continues to lead
the world in clean technology and high-tech manufacturing,” said
Dee Dee Myers, Senior Advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom
and Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic
Development. “Their pioneering work to decarbonize aviation, by
advancing battery and now hydrogen fuel cell technology, is helping
to fight climate change and create a clean energy future that will
improve the lives of all Californians.”
Joby’s hydrogen-electric demonstrator is part of the Company’s
future technology program and is the result of several years of
collaboration between a small team at Joby and H2FLY, Joby’s
wholly-owned subsidiary based in Stuttgart, Germany. The converted
aircraft previously completed more than 25,000 miles of testing as
a battery-electric aircraft at Joby’s base in Marina, CA.
Using the same airframe and overall architecture as Joby’s core,
battery-electric aircraft, this demonstrator features a liquid
hydrogen fuel tank, designed and built by Joby, which stores up to
40 kilograms of liquid hydrogen, alongside a reduced mass of
batteries. Hydrogen is fed into a fuel cell system, designed and
built by H2FLY, to produce electricity, water, and heat. The
electricity produced by the hydrogen fuel cell powers the six
electric motors on the Joby aircraft, with the batteries providing
additional power primarily during take-off and landing.
Joby’s H2FLY team used similar technology to complete another
record-breaking flight in September 2023, when they flew the
world’s first piloted flight of a conventional liquid
hydrogen-electric aircraft using their fuel cell technology.
As part of Joby’s wider commitment to leading the way on the
development of new aviation technologies, it recently acquired
Xwing Inc., an industry leader in the development of autonomous
technology for aviation. Xwing has been flying autonomous aircraft
since 2020, with 250 fully autonomous flights and more than 500
auto-landings completed to date, using the Superpilot software it
developed in-house.
Joby plans to start commercial operations as soon as 2025, using
its battery-electric air taxi. The Company is listed on the New
York Stock Exchange and has raised more than $2 billion of funding
to date, including investments from Toyota, Delta Air Lines, SK
Telecom, Uber and Baillie Gifford.
Media assets, including photos and footage of Joby’s
hydrogen-electric technology demonstrator aircraft, are available
here.
About Joby
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) is a California-based
transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical
take-off and landing air taxi which it intends to operate as part
of a fast, quiet, and convenient service in cities around the
world. To learn more, visit www.jobyaviation.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within
the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited
to, statements regarding the development and performance of our
aircraft, the growth of our manufacturing capabilities, our
regulatory outlook, progress and timing, including our expectation
to start commercial air taxi operations as soon as 2025; our
planned operations with the Department of Defense; our business
plan, objectives, goals and market opportunity; potential benefits
of, and use cases for, hydrogen-electric aircraft; the markets in
which we expect to operate or sell our aircraft; and our current
expectations relating to our business, financial condition, results
of operations, prospects, capital needs and growth of our
operations, including the expected benefits of our
vertically-integrated business model. You can identify
forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate
strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may
include words such as “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”,
“project”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”,
“can have”, “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning
in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future
operating or financial performance or other events. All forward
looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may
cause actual results to differ materially, including: our ability
to launch our air taxi service and the growth of the urban air
mobility market generally; our ability to produce aircraft that
meet our performance expectations in the volumes and on the
timelines that we project; unknown demand, performance
characteristics and certification requirements for
hydrogen-electric aircraft; the competitive environment in which we
operate; our future capital needs; our ability to adequately
protect and enforce our intellectual property rights; our ability
to effectively respond to evolving regulations and standards
relating to our aircraft; our reliance on third-party suppliers and
service partners; uncertainties related to our estimates of the
size of the market for our service and future revenue
opportunities; and other important factors discussed in the section
titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 27,
2024, and in future filings and other reports we file with or
furnish to the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements represent
management’s estimates and beliefs as of the date of this release.
While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at
some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even
if subsequent events cause our views to change.
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Investors: investors@jobyaviation.com
Media: press@jobyaviation.com
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