Otto Aviation, LLC has announced a collaboration with ZeroAvia to integrate ZeroAvia’s ZA600 zero-emissions engines into Otto’s Celera aircraft. The collaboration could make the Celera the first new airframe design to leverage zero-emissions propulsion in its launch models.

The Celera is an innovative new model of transcontinental aircraft, scalable to 19 passengers, that significantly improves the efficiency of flight to reduce the operational costs of flying. The combination could significantly expand the opportunities for private air transportation.

Otto’s aircraft design offers exceptionally low drag, with the Celera fuselage, empennage, and wings taking advantage of laminar flow—smooth layers of airflow with little to no mixing of adjacent layers. Coupled with highly fuel-efficient propulsion systems, the aircraft can not only significantly reduce operating costs but also increase range and optimize passenger comfort and cargo capacity relative to comparable aircraft.

When powered by ZeroAvia’s powertrain, the Celera will offer long-range zero-emissions flights and further reduce operating costs thanks to reduced maintenance costs and falling hydrogen-fuel prices. The aircraft’s design can accommodate large volumes of hydrogen within the fuselage to enable 1000 nmi (1850 km) of range—all with zero climate impact from carbon and non-carbon emissions like NOx, SOx, and particulates.

With non-carbon emissions from relatively inefficient, high-temperature combustion contributing over half of the total climate impact of aviation, long-range hydrogen-electric aircraft such as the Celera are expected to play an important role in eliminating all climate impacts of aviation.

“ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric powertrain helps us to realize the commitment Otto has made to lower operating costs and climate impact for operators,” said William Otto, CEO of Hollister, CA-based Otto Aviation. “Otto is looking to provide the most efficient aircraft in all senses of the word: minimizing maintenance and operating costs and reducing emissions.”​

ZeroAvia’s mission is to deliver hydrogen-electric engines into every aircraft, having identified the technology as the most practical, economical, and furthest reaching solution for reducing aviation’s climate change and clean air impacts. Hydrogen-electric engines use hydrogen in fuel cells to generate electricity, which is then used to power electric motors to turn the aircraft’s propellers, with the only byproduct being water.

“The majority of our commercial deals to date have focused on retrofit and line-fit for existing airframes, which is essential to deliver zero-emission flight to market as quickly as possible,” said Val Miftakhov, Founder & CEO, of ZeroAvia. “However, efficiency gains from new airframe design can expand the impact of zero-emission aviation. We are pleased to collaborate with innovators, like Otto Aviation, bringing cutting-edge clean sheet designs to market as we can optimize the hydrogen-electric propulsion system for those designs.”

ZeroAvia is focused on hydrogen-electric aviation solutions to address a variety of markets, initially targeting a 300-mi (482-km) range in 10-20 seat aircraft by 2024, and up to 1000-mi (1610-km) range in 40-80 seat aircraft by 2026. Based in the UK and U.S., the company has already secured experimental certificates for its two-prototype aircraft from the CAA (Corporate Aircraft Association) and the U.S. DOT’s (Department of Transportation’s) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), passed significant flight test milestones, secured a number of key partnerships with major aircraft OEMs and major global airlines, and is on track for commercial operations in 2024.

The development of ZeroAvia’s 600-kW powertrain is part of Project HyFlyer II and will deliver a fully certified powertrain for aircraft of up to 19 seats by 2024. The project is supported by the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS), Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), and Innovate UK through the ATI Programme.

After having flown multiple six-seat R&D prototypes, ZeroAvia is preparing its first 19-seat prototype for its inaugural flight in the coming weeks. The company is also retrofitting a second Dornier 228 testbed in Hollister, CA, to conduct further flight testing.

William Otto founded Otto Laboratories, Inc. in 1974 for accident reconstruction, which has taken him over 2 million miles to various accident sites throughout the world. The extensive traveling brought air transportation problems to light, so he began to develop the Celera 500L as an answer to these problems. Otto Aviation Group, LLC was established in 2008 so Bill could lead a team full-time to finish the design of the Celera 500L, carry it through flight tests, and lay the foundation for certification and eventual production.

In November, Otto Aviation announced that it had concluded Phase One testing of its Celera 500L aircraft with 55 successful test flights and roughly 51 h of flight time. The final test flight used sustainable aviation fuel, further validating the Celera aircraft’s potential to revolutionize sustainable air travel in an aircraft that already has 80% lower fuel consumption than comparable aircraft.

During test flights, the team was able to visualize the laminar flow state with a precision infrared camera
mounted on a chase aircraft, quantifying extensive laminar flow capability on external surfaces. The team also tested wing and fuselage surfaces for laminar flow robustness and gathered additional test
data supporting the development work for the production vehicle.

Through a collaboration with Cal Poly’s BLDS (Boundary Layer Data System) team, Otto was able to quantify the skin friction state of the wing and fuselage surfaces using a series of Preston-type, pitot-static tubes. Additionally, it was able to collect data from custom-built boundary layer rakes to measure the cumulative effect of laminar friction on the airflow around the wing and fuselage.

“The data from our first phase of test flights show that we are on the path to achieving our goals for the aircraft,” said Otto. “We couldn’t be more excited in this step toward our mission of having a production aircraft in 2025, and we look forward to beginning the next phase of development where we will take the aircraft to higher altitudes and higher speeds.”

The company is well on its way to making real its idea of what air travel could be, imagining the convenience of private air transportation but at a significantly lower cost and a dramatically reduced carbon footprint. The Celera 500L is expected to allow this to become reality and is being called the most significant innovation for private air transportation in decades.

Here’s why, according to the Otto website. The Celera 500L’s 18-25 mpg fuel economy compared to jet aircraft that get 2-3 mpg. Its $328 hourly operating cost compares to typical jet aircraft costs of $2100 per h. The aircraft’s maximum cruise speed is projected to be in excess of 460 mph (740 km/h), with a 4500-nmi (8330-km) range.

Otto says that the Celera 500L’s reduction in carbon emissions beats FAA and UN Agency ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) target emissions standards for aircraft entering service in or after 2031 by over 30%.