氢动力飞机公司ZeroAvia获亚马逊和壳牌支持

原标题：氢动力飞机公司ZeroAvia获亚马逊和壳牌支持

    中国石化新闻网讯 据能源世界网12月16日报道，氢能飞机初创公司ZeroAvia周三表示，在比尔·盖茨（Bill Gates）的突破能源基金(Breakthrough Energy Ventures)领投的一轮融资中，已获得2140万美元的投资，用于开发零排放商用飞机。

    这家总部位于加州的初创公司的支持者包括亚马逊和能源巨头荷兰皇家壳牌。该公司的一架由氢驱动的六座螺旋桨飞机已经完成了10次试飞。

    燃烧时会产生水的氢，被认为是航空工业（化石燃料的主要使用者）的潜在替代品。氢可以由化石燃料或使用电解的水制成，尽管这是一个昂贵的过程。

    称这样的飞机“是一台耗电的机器，尤其是在起飞时"的zeroavia首席执行官瓦尔米夫塔霍夫(Valmiftakhov)对路透社表示，这是一个资本密集型行业，所以让投资者帮助你度过这一过程是非常重要的。

    ZeroAvia一直在英国进行试飞，其目标是到2023年使用10-20个座位的飞机进行长达500英里的商业飞行，并在2030年前将200名乘客运送到3000英里的地方。

    Miftakhov表示，他的初创公司预计在商业客机之前，将有货运航班的飞机投入运营。

    在最新一轮融资中，ZeroAvia已经筹集了3440万美元，为其提供了现金来扩大其在大型飞机上的技术应用。其还与英国航空公司合作，探索未来该航班如何转成氢动力。

    亚马逊的支持来自其20亿美元的气候承诺基金。 这家在线零售商的目标是到2040年实现碳中和业务，已从戴姆勒公司的梅赛德斯·奔驰和初创公司Rivian订购了电动货车。

    壳牌的资金来自壳牌风险投资(Shell Ventures)的一个部门，该部门一直在加大对太阳能和其他可再生能源的投资。

    郝芬 译自 能源世界

    原文如下：

    Hydrogen plane startup ZeroAvia gets backing from Amazon, Shell

    Hydrogen plane startup ZeroAvia said on Wednesday it had secured $21.4 million in a funding round led by Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures to develop zero-emission commercial aircraft.

    Backers for the California-based startup, which has completed 10 test flights with a six-seater propeller plane powered by hydrogen, included Amazon and energy giant Royal Dutch Shell.

    Hydrogen, which produces water when it burns, is seen as a potential alternative for the aviation industry, a major user of fossil fuels. Hydrogen can be made from fossil fuels or from water using electrolysis, although this an expensive process.

    "This is a capital-intensive industry, so having investors to help you through the process is very important," ZeroAvia Chief Executive Val Miftakhov told Reuters, saying a plane was "a power-hungry machine, especially on take off."

    ZeroAvia, which has been conducting test flights in Britain, aims for commercial flights of up to 500 miles using 10- to 20-seat aircraft by 2023 and commercial jets able to haul up to 200 passengers 3,000 miles by 2030.

    Miftakhov said his startup expected to have planes for cargo flights in operation before commercial passenger planes.

    With the latest round, ZeroAvia has raised $34.4 million, providing it with cash to scale up its technology for larger aircraft. It has also teamed up with British Airways to explore how the carrier could shift to hydrogen-powered planes in future.

    Amazon's backing comes from its $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund. The online retailer, which aims to run a carbon neutral business by 2040, has ordered electric vans from Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz and startup Rivian.

    Shell's funds came from its Shell Ventures a unit which has been boosting investments in solar and other renewables.