Playground Portfolio Company Spotlight: Universal Hydrogen
There has been significant innovation in sustainable ground transportation (cars, trucks, trains) by utilizing renewable energy sources. However, the aviation industry is still producing billions of tons of carbon emissions annually. Universal Hydrogen, a Playground portfolio company, is changing the course of aviation toward a more sustainable future.?
Universal Hydrogen has officially received the experimental airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Association after performing initial taxi testing. This clears the way for the Dash-8-300 test plane to be the largest hydrogen-powered aircraft ever to take flight in the coming weeks.
Co-Founder & CEO Paul Eremenko explains in the How I Built This podcast why creating the infrastructure for hydrogen-powered aviation is no simple task. Thanks to the Paris Agreement, Paul saw an opportunity to extract true green hydrogen inexpensively. In just two years, Universal Hydrogen developed the lightweight modular pods of self-burning liquid hydrogen that will be used in its inaugural test flight.?
In Playground’s What’s Next video, General Partner, Peter Barrett, shares how vital Universal Hydrogen’s upcoming flight is in demonstrating that commercial sustainable aviation is not only possible but attainable within the next decade.?
To learn more about Universal Hydrogen, visit their website and follow them on Twitter @Universal_H2 as they prepare to for takeoff.