In Conversation with Sam Lambert from Cranfield Aerospace

The company’s been around in one form or another for over 30 years, but it was only 4 years ago that the powers that be decided to focus on their North Star: zero emissions aircraft. Time for a bit of science. In order to get a plane that is truly non-emitting, you have to change the propulsion system. In the planes that we see in the skies today, that propulsion system is predicated on an engine that burns carbon-emitting fuel, which is then belched out of the back of the plane into the sky – that’s why you see contrails – and, in turn, the atmosphere.

Hydrogen is different. You can burn it, like traditional fuels, but what it produces is still not truly emissions free. That’s where hydrogen fuel cells come in, the focal point of Cranfield and, basically, its raison d’être. In a hydrogen fuel cell, a chemical reaction takes place that produces electricity. So far, so green. That electricity powers the motor, which powers the propeller of a plane. The only waste product produced? Water.

Sam tells us that Cranfield initially started by looking at batteries as a means of green flight but, as anyone who owns a smartphone knows, they’re not always straightforward. They’re heavy, require specific amounts of charge and their life degrades with use. On an airline scale, that could be pretty costly. In fact, this whole business is a costly one. That’s why the people at Cranfield have decided to focus on fitting their hydrogen fuel cell powered propulsion system to an existing plane, rather than designing a new one from scratch. When Sam breaks down the numbers, it’s easy to see why. ‘A whole new system and aircraft design would take years and cost somewhere in the region of $1.5 billion dollars’, he tells us, ‘so it’s prohibitively expensive’. Instead, they’re planning on demoing their tech next year in an existing small aircraft: an Islander. The commercial product offered for the aircraft will follow later this decade.

This is where my travel ears prick up. Islanders sound, well, as though they’re designed for islands. I’m partially right; in fact, they’re small planes that, in the travel industry, have tended to be used to shuttle travellers back and forth from remote places: lodges, animal hides, wilderness trails and reserves. ‘The needs of these aircraft are quite modest, so they’re a good stepping stone’, Sam says. They’re also a great example of how this sort of technology could be used in our industry going forward. Because, although expensive to fit into planes, operators – however small – are likely to see significant savings across the plane’s life. Hydrogen-powered planes are less onerous to maintain and need servicing less, all of which means ‘up to 45% savings for operators’.

Cranfield, though, are aiming big. Sam’s role is in business development, making him in the minority at the company. Most of the 80-strong team are engineers, all of whom are working towards a singular goal: a commercial product that can be brought to market. It’s remarkable to hear about the strategy, its scale and timespan. We’re not talking months here, but years, maybe even decades. The technology is still new and, although it’s been used in the car industry for a while now, developing a system that could power your trip to the other side of the world is something that we likely won’t see until at least the 2030s.

But that’s where Cranfield is heading. To a wholly new regional aircraft, designed around hydrogen propulsion, an environmentally sustainable product that can ferry passengers far and wide. Sam’s role is to make sure that the combined IQs at the company are developing exactly the sort of product that an airline wants and, in turn, making sure the airlines know what hydrogen involves; how it runs, what it costs, why it’s the future.

Developing a tool to power a new generation of air travel is not a cheap business. The big boys of the industry – the likes of Airbus and Embraer – are dipping their toes in the market, all of which means that competition for funding is fierce. Cranfield, through a combination of fundraising and bridging loans, have to date raised around £30 million. They’re currently in the midst of a further round of fundraising to get their demonstrator aircraft flying in 2025, grow the team, and plough ahead into product development. A US based competitor – Universal Hydrogen – went bust a couple of months ago. It’s a tough business.

It’s an important one, though. We need air travel; it’s what our modern world is built on. At Love To Explore, we need it more than most. We’re all for a staycation but we’d be slightly limiting our market without our friends in the airline industry. And wouldn’t it be lovely to do it all with a clean conscience? And clean skies? That’s what Sam and the team at Cranfield are helping to do: to get us to a future where both of those things are a reality. And, as Sam says, ‘it’s a real privilege to work in the future’.