SAE TOMORROW TODAY: Fueling Flight With Hydrogen Technology

Zero emission aviation is the future - and Hydroplane is paving the way with affordable hydrogen fuel cell powerplant technology. Founded by former NASA engineer Dr. Anita Sengupta, Hydroplane is focused on decarbonizing aviation for regional aircraft travel. As the winner of two U.S. Air Force Agility Prime contracts, Hydroplane's team of space program-trained engineers have developed a drop-in hydrogen fuel cell powerplant solution designed to replace existing combustion powerplants in single engine and urban air mobility platforms. The result is lower cost and a significant improvement in range, endurance, and payload over battery power. Applications for this technology include flight training, commercial transportation, air taxi, cargo transportation, humanitarian aid, and government support. As a minority woman small business owner, Anita feels a personal responsibility to share her growth journey, from working for the space program to moving into entrepreneurialism. She serves as an SAE Foundation Trustee to support the STEM mission and advance equitable access to high-quality, hands-on STEM programming, and she is also on the SAE H2 working group. Anita recently spoke to a group of high school women participating in the SAE A World in Motion (AWIM) Fuel Cell Challenge as part of the CalStateLA LAunchPad program. We sat down with Anita to discuss her impressive career, her passion for decarbonizing air travel, and how she sees hydrogen fuel cell technology evolving over the next decade.