Aerospace Events

ZeroAvia and AFI KLM E&M partner to support hydrogen-electric aircraft

Posted 23 October 2023

At the MRO Europe event in Amsterdam last week, AFI KLM E&M and ZeroAvia announced that they have signed a pioneering Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of hydrogen-electric propulsion for aircraft.

Image courtesy ZeroAvia

As part of this agreement, the two partners are jointly studying the technical training needs and processes required for the technicians and mechanics who will be involved in retrofitting and maintaining fleets equipped with this technology in the future. This mutually beneficial cooperation also covers ongoing support for components.

James Peck, Chief Customer Officer at ZeroAvia said: “Thanks to this collaboration, we have access to all the experience of a leading player to explore training the MRO community in the technological breakthroughs delivering clean flight.

"AFI KLM E&M’s commitment will help to ensure that zero–emission aircraft will be operating on commercial routes within the next few years.”

Ton Dortmans, EVP KLM Engineering and Maintenance, AFI KLM E&M, said: “ZeroAvia is a recognised pioneer in the sector, with a pragmatic technological approach. Alongside other technological solutions such as sustainable aviation fuels and 100% electric propulsion, we are very interested in ZeroAvia’s promising hydrogen-electric architectures and retrofit plans.

"We firmly believe in the development of ‘zero-carbon’ aviation and we have decided to make a concrete contribution by mobilising our expertise and our MRO ecosystem. Developing new machines is one thing. It’s quite another to operate and maintain them and we need to start preparing for that today, together with our partners and customers”.