Airbus and MTU to Launch Joint Venture for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Aviation Engines in 2027
Joint venture will kick off in 2027 as the pair look to pool resources on fuel cell powertrain development. In a widely anticipated move, Airbus and MTU Aero Engines are to form a joint venture to develop and commercialise a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. Building on a memorandum of understanding s igned at last year's Paris air show , the updated and non-binding agreement foresees the start of operations in 2027, subject to regulatory clearance. Both partners will support the as-yet-unnamed business, which they say will "accelerate technology development, design, testing and certification of a revolutionary propulsion system". "Our planned joint venture is the next logical step in our shared vision of a hydrogen-based propulsion concept for aviation," says Bruno Fichefeux, head of future programmes at Airbus. He says combining the resources and expertise of the two companies will create a "European powerhouse capable of transforming advanced research into industrialised, certifiable electric propulsion systems." Both companies have existing research projects focused on hydrogen propulsion systems. Despite slowing its effort in early 2025, Airbus has continued fuel cell powertrain research and technology activities under its ZEROe programme, which is targeting an aircraft powered by four 2.4MW electric engines and capable of flying routes of 1,000nm (1,850km) with 100 passengers on board. Earlier in 2026, Airbus said it had confirmed the feasibility of such a concept and will later in 2026 test an integrated 1MW powertrain that is significantly smaller and more compact than an earlier 1.2MW version that it ran in 2023. It also has an existing joint venture with ElringKlinger called AeroStack, through which it is developing aerospace-grade fuel cells. For its part, MTU has been working on two parallel fuel cell propulsion projects. Under its s elf-funded Flying Fuel Cell programme , the German engine specialist is developing a 600kW powertrain, including an electric motor. Meanwhile, through HEROPS, funded by the EU's Clean Aviation body, it is leading a consortium to deliver a 1.2MW fuel cell powertrain ground demonstrator. MTU also owns electric motor manufacturer eMoSys, which could also contribute to the joint effort. Speaking to FlightGlobal in April , Dr Hauke Ludders, head of fuel cell propulsion systems at ZEROe, said the pair intended to respond to Clean Aviation's latest call for proposals with a joint submission on fuel cell power. Clean Aviation has pledged total funding of €101 million for hydrogen-related projects in its fourth call, including a demonstration of "advanced [fuel cell] propulsion techno-bricks". Submissions were due in mid-May, with selected projects to kick-off in early 2027.