Universal Hydrogen

Universal Hydrogen produces hydrogen fuel tanks for aircraft using its modular capsule technology. The company is also developing a conversion kit to retrofit existing aircraft with a hydrogen-electric powertrain.

In March 2022, Universal Hydrogen announced plans to build a manufacturing and distribution facility for hydrogen storage modules in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The new plant was expected to begin full-scale manufacturing in 2024 and would produce both gaseous and liquid hydrogen, assemble aircraft retrofit kits, and provide aftermarket maintenance services.

The company has an R&D center in Toulouse, France, which facilitates the production of both gaseous and liquid hydrogen capsules. It also has a flight test center in Moses Lake, Washington. Universal Hydrogen was expected to begin supplying hydrogen to regional aircraft by 2025. The company also planned to expand its hydrogen offerings to larger single-aisle aircraft.

Key customers and partnerships

In November 2023, the company signed an MoU with Japan Airlines (JAL) and JAL Engineering Co. (JALEC) to replace JAL’s regional fleet with its ATR retrofit conversion kit solution, with JAL and JALEC contributing to the technical design and development of the conversion kits and the overall hydrogen value chain in Japan.

In March 2022, Universal Hydrogen partnered with H3 Dynamics, a Singapore-based AI and robotics company, to develop a range of unmanned and manned aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel logistics. In March 2023, the company collaborated with Sojitz Corporation, Mitsubishi HC Capital, and an undisclosed third Japanese partner to explore green hydrogen supply and logistics solutions for Japanese airlines. In October 2023, Universal Hydrogen partnered with JBT AeroTech, a provider of airport ground support equipment, to design the H2AmpCartTM, a hydrogen fuel cell-powered mobile battery charger for electric airport support equipment.

As of March 2023, the company had already received nearly 250 retrofit orders valued at more than USD 1 billion from 16 customers, including Air New Zealand.

Funding and financials

The company’s most recent funding was in October 2022, when it received a strategic investment from American Airlines. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The proceeds were used for commercialization efforts.