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Sustainable Urban air mobility is evolving, but batteries alone won’t take us far enough. Hydrogen offers a compelling alternative—lightweight, energy-dense, and fast to refuel. This project was a demonstrator, an attempt to integrate hydrogen fuel cells into an eVTOL design, showing investors a viable path toward cleaner, more efficient urban aviation.
Task
Develop a concept aircraft that merges hydrogen propulsion with practical eVTOL design, addressing efficiency, energy storage, and real-world infrastructure integration.
I led the conceptual design of a hydrogen-powered eVTOL, focusing on real-world viability rather than just theoretical performance. The project merged sustainability, aerodynamics, and system efficiency, creating a compelling proof of concept that showcased hydrogen as a serious contender for urban aviation.
Beyond just a CAD model, this project helped shape discussions on hydrogen infrastructure at vertiports, the benefits of tiltwing design, and how hybrid energy storage (battery + hydrogen fuel cell) could extend service life.
Strategic Layout & Energy Integration
- Developed a tiltwing configuration for smoother, less power-intensive takeoff and landing.
- Designed modular hydrogen tank placement within the fuselage, optimizing weight distribution.
- Implemented a 48kWh auxiliary battery to balance power loads and improve longevity.
Simplicity Over Complexity
- Avoided complex tiltrotor mechanisms, reducing maintenance costs.
- Focused on distributed electric propulsion for redundancy and efficiency.
Scalability & Real-World Feasibility
- Positioned vertiports as hydrogen refueling hubs, integrating air and ground transportation needs.
- Ensured the aircraft could operate within existing infrastructure, making adoption easier.
Achieved through eliminating complex rotor tilt systems.
Improved refueling compared to battery-based UAM solutions.
Compared to lithium-ion eVTOL concepts, extending range.
Prototype demonstrating hydrogen’s feasibility.
“The modular tank integration makes this far more practical than other hydrogen eVTOL ideas we’ve seen.”
- Rapid Prototyping
- Time-Constrained Development
- Technical Feasibility Analysis
- Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
- Hydrogen Fuel Cell R&D
- Hybrid Energy Storage Strategies
- Infrastructure Integration
- Emission Reduction Strategies
- 3D CAD Modeling
- Hydrogen Tank Optimization
- Concept Demonstration
- Investor Pitch Support
- System Engineering
- Lightweight Engineering
- Technical documentation
- Numeric simulations
- Class A surface design