An aviation startup has completed what it calls the world's first hydrogen fuel cell-powered passenger aircraft flight

The world's first hydrogen-electric passenger plane flight.ZeroAvia

• ZeroAvia has completed what it calls the world's first hydrogen fuel cell-powered passenger aircraft flight.
• The landmark flight was completed in a six-seater commercial Piper aircraft that was then retrofitted with a new eco-friendly powertrain.
• The flight was a part of ZeroAvia's UK government-backed HyFlyer project, which also completed the country's first electric commercial-sized aircraft flight in the same Piper M-class.
• According to ZeroAvia's CEO Val Miftakhov in a statement, the future of commercial hydrogen fuel cell-powered flights may not be as far away as we assume.

ZeroAvia has completed what it calls the world's first hydrogen fuel cell-powered passenger flight.

The London and California-based company's flight took place at its research and development space in England. According to a report by Engineering and Technology, the flight lasted 20 minutes.

This landmark journey was completed in a six-seater commercial-sized Piper aircraft that was retrofitted to be supported by hydrogen fuel cells, a power source that's now being tested in forms of transit ranging from mining dump trucks to pick-up trucks. This Piper M-class' powertrain retrofit also now makes it the world's largest hydrogen-powered aircraft, according to its maker.

Just like any other aircraft, the hydrogen-electric Piper completed a taxi, take-off, flight pattern, and landing. However, as of its current stage, ZeroAvia's aircraft can't compare to that of a fossil fuel-powered iteration in terms of flying distance and payload yet.