Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) is closing in on a £15 million ($19 million) funding boost that should enable the UK firm to begin overdue flight testing of its fuel cell powertrain aboard a modified Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander.
UK-based CAeS indicted in its most set of recent accounts, released in May, that a difficult investment climate had pushed first flight of the modified Islander into 2025.
But CAeS chief executive Paul Hutton says within “the next single-digit weeks” it should secure the “first close” of its Series B funding round, bringing in half of the £30 million target.
That will allow the company to begin ground-test activities as it builds towards a first flight in August or September next year.
“Following on from the funding we can fund all the necessary activities to get it up in the air within 12 months,” he says. Service entry of the platform is set for 2027.
Investors in the first close are likely to include existing backers Safran Corporate Ventures and the United Arab Emirates’ Strategic Development Fund.
Despite the delay, Hutton remains confident in CAeS’s product, claiming it has the highest power density of any fuel cell system in the industry.
Besides the Islander modification, CAeS has said it sees an early opportunity for a lower-output, 125kW version of its powertrain to equip from around 2028 the Black Swan uncrewed cargo drone being developed by Dronamics.
However, the company has also identified the replacement of aircraft auxiliary power units (APUs) with its fuel cell system as another near-term prospect.
“We can put that into the tail of pretty much any single- or twin-aisle aircraft that’s flying today,” says Hutton. “We can turn a diesel generator producing around 10% of all airport emissions into zero emissions.”
CAeS would look to introduce the fuel cell APU through a supplementary type certificate (STC) and is already “talking to airlines and at least one OEM”, Hutton adds.
In the meantime, work continues towards the modified Islander’s first flight. CAeS is replacing the standard starboard piston engine with an Evolito electric motor powered by hydrogen fuel cells from PowerCell.
CAeS recently disclosed it had switched hydrogen tank suppliers for the project, dropping Scottish firm Innovatus Technologies in favour of US provider HyPerComp Engineering. Hutton says the change was made due to concerns over its previous supplier’s ability to manufacture at scale.
While the demonstrator’s fuel tanks will be inside the fuselage, the eventual conversion will see the pressurised tanks installed beneath the wing via an existing pylon modification for the BN-2.
However, the Islander is not currently approved for passenger transport if external fuel tanks are installed.
“When equipped with the detachable underwing fuel tanks… the aeroplane shall not be used for the purpose of public transport,” Britten-Norman documents state.
Nonetheless, Hutton says he is confident, based on engagement with the UK regulator, that it will overturn that limitation for the hydrogen modification.
“They are comfortable with our plans for the tanks. It’s just about going through a process to demonstrate why they are safe; we see no show-stoppers at all.”
