12th October 2023

Press Release

Conscious Aerospace takes a crucial step in hydrogen-powered aviation with the festive inauguration of the hangar at Rotterdam Hague Airport.

Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Conscious Aerospace took an essential step in developing their HAPSS: the Hydrogen Aircraft Propulsion and Storage System. In the hangar, which has been festively inaugurated at Rotterdam The Hague Airport, the young company continues to build this system that powers aircraft with hydrogen. "This hangar allows us to work out the designs on paper in practice," says CEO Erik Geertsema. "With the ambition of being the first to fly more than 30 passengers over a distance of 750 km on hydrogen by 2028."

Aviation in Transition

Conscious Aerospace celebrated its first anniversary in September and is the largest project under the government's Aviation in Transition initiative. With funding from the (Dutch) National Growth Fund, the opportunity arose to establish the company and develop the HAPSS system. This was done by collaborating with more than 10 Dutch companies and knowledge institutions from the aircraft industry and the maritime and automotive sectors. These were all present today at Rotterdam The Hague Airport, together with Conscious Aerospace's team, which currently consists of 20 people. Together, they witnessed the key handover of the hangar to the CEO of Conscious Aerospace, the unveiling of a plaque, speeches by various speakers, a video message from Canadian aircraft manufacturer De Havilland and the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Mark Harbers.

Accelerating the transition to hydrogen

By 2028, the first turboprop aircraft, Dash 8-300, will fly more than 30 passengers from Rotterdam to London, powered by a HAPSS system. "We can achieve this in a relatively short period because we do not develop and build a new propulsion system in a new aircraft. That is a lengthy process," Geertsema explains. "We are taking on the challenge of equipping an existing aircraft with zero-emission propulsion. With the technology brought together in HAPSS, we can accelerate the transition to hydrogen." Conscious Aerospace signed an initial cooperation agreement with Canadian aircraft manufacturer De Havilland, which produces turboprop passenger aircraft, in April 2023.

Catalyst

However, the inauguration of the hangar is a crucial step not only for Conscious Aerospace. It is also a landmark moment for the airport's transition to hydrogen. "Rotterdam The Hague Airport is the innovation platform of the Schiphol Airport Group," explains Wilma van Dijk, CEO of the airport. "We are working on various projects to make aviation more sustainable, including the transition to hydrogen. We need to ensure the infrastructure is in place: supply from the port of Rotterdam to storage and transfer here at the airport. The arrival of Conscious Aerospace is a catalyst for us to develop the transition to hydrogen further." Delegate Jeanette Baljeu of the province of South Holland, specially invited to unveil the plaque that will hang in the hangar, also endorsed the importance of Conscious Aerospace's arrival. "Frontrunners like Conscious Aerospace are indispensable in the energy transition. The application of hydrogen in aviation, inland navigation, and regional transport can contribute to our ambitions to become more sustainable. It is also an important step in our aim to grow with the port and industry of Rotterdam into the hydrogen hub of Europe."

The aviation sector accounts for about 3 percent of global CO2 emissions. "It is time to move towards a more sustainable sector," said the founder of Conscious Aerospace, Michel van Ierland. "And with HAPSS, we can accelerate the transition. Conscious Aerospace is going for fully zero-emission hydrogen-based aircraft by 2028. The inauguration of this hangar and a growing operational team led by Erik Geertsema is a crucial step in that."