Honeywell-led alliance achieves hydrogen-electric propulsion
A Honeywell Aerospace-led consortium has successfully integrated a megawatt-class hydrogen-electric power source for aircraft.
A consortium of 18 European companies led by Honeywell Aerospace has achieved a significant integration milestone for a high-power hydrogen-electric aircraft propulsion system. The group announced on September 17, 2026, that under Project NEWBORN, it has successfully combined individual subsystems into a functional hydrogen power source capable of generating and supplying electrical energy for an aircraft.
The next phase is an integrated ground demonstration of the complete propulsion system. In this test, the hydrogen fuel-cell power source and batteries will supply electricity to an electric motor that drives an aircraft propeller.
To validate the hydrogen power source, Honeywell Aerospace developed a dedicated testing platform near Prague. This facility simulates a range of aircraft functions and includes its own power source, fluid distribution systems, electrical systems, a control room, safety equipment, and heat rejection systems.
Consortium and Project Scope
The project, which launched in 2023, involves partners from ten European countries. Participants include PowerCell, Fraunhofer, Test-Fuchs, Siemens Industry Software, KU Leuven, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, and CIRA.
Miroslav Matoušek, the NEWBORN Project Coordinator at Honeywell Aerospace, stated that the project demonstrates European collaborative capability. Project NEWBORN is not only demonstrating new technology, it is demonstrating the ability of European industry, universities and research organizations to work together on ambitious technological visions and turn them into functioning systems, he said.
The project is funded by the European Union through the EU Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking. Its goal is to build one of the world's most powerful hydrogen-electric aircraft propulsion systems of its kind.
System Integration and Testing
The integrated hydrogen power source system will now be transferred to Gorizia, Italy, for the continuation of the project. Final tests there will assemble dozens of technologies developed across Europe into a single functional unit.
In Gorizia, the fuel-cell power source will be connected to battery systems from Pipistrel and a megawatt-class electric propulsion system. That motor was jointly developed by the University of Nottingham, Honeywell Aerospace, and Pipistrel.
Ondřej Kotaba, Technology Fellow and NEWBORN Technical Lead with Honeywell Aerospace, outlined the technical challenge. He said a range of interconnected technologies were developed in parallel, covering air supply, hydrogen management, thermal management, electrical distribution, power electronics, control, communications, and safety monitoring. Bringing all these subsystems together will represent the project's culmination.
