Eaton joins EU-supported HEROPS consortium to advance hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft for a sustainable future

Seven leading partners from industry and academia are joining forces in the HEROPS consortium, including Collins Aerospace, Lufthansa Technik, MT Aerospace, Netherlands Aerospace Center, and the Vienna University of Technology. Eaton’s role in the consortium will involve developing a highly optimized 100 kilowatt Power Distribution Unit (PDU) for electrical subsystems. Enabling intelligent switching and protection using solid state circuit breakers (SSCB), this PDU will help to ensure the reliability and safety of hydrogen-powered aircraft.

Over the next 12 months, the HEROPS consortium will establish key architecture and reliability requirements for the project. The partners will create a 2 megawatt class propulsion system demonstrator, based on a scalable 600 kilowatt core module. Additionally, extensive simulations and testing will prove the feasibility of delivering two to four megawatts of power using a modular engine architecture. Consortium will focus to meet relevant certification requirements during development to make certification in the future possible, HEROPS will also pave the way for future commercial prototyping—with systems seeing a potential entry into service on regional aircraft from 2035.

Pavel Cejnar, senior specialist, Eaton Research Labs, said: “We’re thrilled to bring our expertise to the ambitious HEROPS project and to learn from so many knowledgeable partners. As a major contributor to global carbon emissions, it’s vital that aircraft become climate neutral. Hydrogen fuel cells are one of the most promising technologies for enabling this transformation, but we need to demonstrate their feasibility and reliability without backup battery systems to accelerate commercial adoption. We’re very excited to support this innovative push to help hydrogen-powered aircraft take off—ultimately creating a safer and more sustainable future for the aviation industry.”

Zero-carbon aircraft propulsion systems, including hydrogen fuel cells, are crucial for achieving the European Green Deal's goal of climate-neutral aviation by 2050—which aims to eliminate aircraft carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions and to reduce the climate impact from contrails by up to 80 percent.

Jörgen von Bodenhausen, senior manager, Government Programs, Eaton, also added: “We continually seek out opportunities to combine our global scale and expertise with that of world-class industrial and academic partners, thus magnifying our own innovation efforts. Our work on the HEROPS project will help to accelerate the commercialization of more sustainable, hydrogen-powered aircraft and create whole new value propositions for both companies and customers.”

About Eaton 

Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life for people everywhere. We make products for the data center, utility, industrial, commercial, machine building, residential, aerospace and mobility markets. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy sources, helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges, and building a more sustainable society for people today and generations to come. 

Eaton was founded in 1911 and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange for more than a century. We reported revenues of $23.2 billion in 2023 and serve customers in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Contact (for journalist enquiries)

Nathalie Lapoirie

NathalieLapoirie@Eaton.com, Tel: +41 78 727 89 66