Keeping the Great White North Green

Universal Hydrogen Co.—the California energy concern about the noble endeavor of making hydrogen-powered commercial flight a near-term reality—has announced that Avmax Aircraft Leasing Inc.—the Canadian lessor of regional aircraft—has placed a firm order to convert twenty of its regional aircraft to run on hydrogen.

The deal affords Avmax flexibility to choose between Universal Hydrogen’s ATR 72-600 and Dash 8-300 conversion kits, and positions Universal Hydrogen to provide hydrogen fuel to Avmax’s leased and owned fleets.

Avmax—a large regional lessor, engineering house, MRO, and global aircraft operator—could become a maintenance and MRO partner to Universal Hydrogen, given the company’s solid North American footing and aircraft conversion capabilities

Avmax SVP Scott Greig remarked: “Canada is the largest regional turboprop market in the world, putting a responsibility on companies like Avmax to identify and adopt the technologies that enable us to thrive while reducing environmental impact.Universal Hydrogen CEO and co-founder Paul Eremenko said of the deal: “This order is an important step for Canada’s sizable regional aviation market, which is home to the largest turboprop fleet in the world with nearly 300 Dash-8s and fifty ATRs servicing over 120 airports. As air travel volumes return to pre-pandemic levels, expansive nations like Canada are revitalizing regional routes to reconnect communities and spur economic activity. We’re excited to collaborate with Avmax to bring hydrogen to Canadian skies.”

Mr. Greig added: “Rapidly curtailing our contribution to aviation's carbon impact requires looking at how we operate our fleets. Universal Hydrogen’s regional conversion kits allow our existing and future fleet to run on green hydrogen, and Universal Hydrogen is simultaneously unlocking cost-competitive and scalable logistics for hydrogen fuel. Offering our customers true-zero-emissions products and services sets us apart, and we hope to see other airlines in Canada follow suit. We see green hydrogen as the only solution to fully decarbonizing the industry and we’re thrilled Universal Hydrogen started its work by tackling regional aircraft solutions.”  

FMI: www.hydrogen.aero