PHASE

80 years have passed since aviation’s last propulsion revolution – when turbojets and turboprops transformed the industry. Since then, technologies have continued to evolve, but progress has plateaued. Today, the needs of both civil and defense aviation are no longer being met, and a new propulsion architecture is required: In civil aviation, the dominant challenges are emissions and cost. Aviation currently accounts for 5–10% of total human climate impact. As other “easier-to-abate” sectors decarbonize while air traffic continues to grow, aviation’s share could reach 25-50% by 2050. Meanwhile, jet fuel costs are expected to rise, and further efficiency gains from turbojet and turboprop technologies are unlikely. Defense faces a different set of priorities: endurance, stealth, and logistics. As detailed in Table 1 (included below), hydrogen fuel cells offer the clearest propulsion solution for both civil and defense, with ZeroAvia leading this transition. Project PHASE seeks to overcome the valley of death for new deep-tech innovation in aerospace by bringing new propulsion to commercial use – completing the TRL8 qualification of the first fully aerospace-grade fuel cell system for commercial flight. The system is called a Standalone Power Generation Module (SPGM), a modularly scalable civil and dual-use system capable of powering UAVs and trainers, 10-20-seat fixed-wing light commercial aircraft, and range-extending battery-electric vertical take-off platforms. This paves the way for the first regulator-approved hydrogen propulsion system for aviation. ZeroAvia has received significant commercial interest for the SPGM - focusing primarily on civil applications. ZA’s work on fuel cell tech has already led to multiple aviation “world-firsts” including: (1) flying the world’s largest H2-electric powered aircraft at the time (2023) using the 19-seat Dornier 228 and (2) integration of our fuel cell technology into the most powerful fuel cell drone to date (2025).