Alaska Donates Q400 to ZeroAvia for Zero Emissions Work

Alaska Airlines has donated one of its retired de Havilland Canada DHC-8-400s to Zero Avia to become the world’s largest zero-emissions aircraft.

The aircraft will be retrofitted with a hydrogen-electric propulsion system in an effort to expand the reach and applicability of zero emissions flight technology.

At an event, held at ZeroAvia’s Paine Field research and development site, the companies were joined by high school students from Raisbeck Aviation High School, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers to participate in the formal handover of the 76-seat Q400 aircraft that will be developed by ZeroAvia, the U.S.-headquartered leader in designing and building zero-emission, hydrogen-electric aircraft propulsion systems for aircraft.

The Aircraft

Alaska partner Horizon Air recently retired its fleet of DHC-8 Q400 aircraft, and reserved one for use in this role.

This particular aircraft is N441QX, a 12-year old airframe.

Its purpose is to aid in further advancing zero emissions technology for the aviation industry. The aircraft was repainted with a special livery to highlight the innovative mission of this partnership.

ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engine uses fuel cells to generate electricity from hydrogen fuel, before using that electricity to power electric motors which turn the aircraft propellers. The certifiable ZA2000 system will include ZeroAvia’s High Temperature PEM fuel cells and liquid hydrogen fuel storage, integral to delivering the necessary energy density for commercial operations of large regional turboprops. The company has already established an engineering partnership with De Havilland of Canada, the original manufacturer of the Dash 8 family of aircraft to enable exchange of data and expertise with the airframe.

In 2021, Alaska Airlines launched a partnership and invested in ZeroAvia to support the development of zero emissions propulsion technology for regional aircraft. As the fifth largest U.S. airline with a large regional network, Alaska has a unique opportunity to support the development of zero-emissions propulsion technology for regional aircraft. By establishing the viability of regional-sized aircraft, both companies will help advance zero-emissions technology across the industry.