Flying Clean and Green: Hydrogen Flights Set to Revolutionize Air Travel

By 2045, nearly all short-range flights could be hydrogen-powered, with significant advancements in technology driving efficiency and range. Sweden may start hydrogen flights by 2028, aiming for major global adoption by 2050.

Hydrogen-powered flight would offer new opportunities for fossil-free travel, and technological advancements in the field are moving fast. New studies from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden indicate that by 2045, almost all air travel within a 750-mile radius could be made with hydrogen-powered aircraft. Additionally, with a novel heat exchanger currently in development, this range could be even further.

“If everything falls into place, the commercialization of hydrogen flight can go really fast now. As early as 2028, the first commercial hydrogen flights in Sweden could be in the air,” says Tomas Grönstedt, Professor at Chalmers University of Technology, and Director of the competence center TechForH2* at Chalmers.