Variants of DeltaHawk’s FAA-certified piston-engine for general aviation aircraft are being developed for use in hydrogen-powered aviation, commercial road vehicle, and military mobility applications. (Photo: Business Wire)
DeltaHawk said its design has applications in zero emission vehicles, commercial power, and defense platforms, in addition to aviation.
RACINE, Wis.—DeltaHawk Engines, a privately held manufacturer of advanced-design FAA-certified piston engines for general aviation aircraft and hybrid power systems, recently completed advanced simulation analysis of a new, hydrogen-fueled variant of its engine family for multiple markets, the company said in a release.
The tests reportedly demonstrated that DeltaHawk’s engine architecture is suitable for hydrogen fuel, and that the company’s patented engine design has applications in a variety of markets in addition to aviation. These markets are reported to include zero emission vehicles (ZEV), other commercial power applications, and multiple defense platforms.
According to DeltaHawk, the use of proven internal combustion engine (ICE) technology with hydrogen fuel replaces more expensive, highly infrastructure-reliant, fuel cell systems. Compared to fuel cells, a hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine has higher tolerance for hydrogen impurities. It also allows leveraging of the existing depth of ICE manufacturing knowledge and extensive service networks.
DeltaHawk said its engine design has numerous other advantages, such as reduced development costs and time to market, as well as higher durability and cost effectiveness due to its more mature technology. Compared to fuel cell technology, the DeltaHawk engine design also has a significantly reduced power degradation curve over time, allowing for better fuel economy than fuel cells after the initial period.
Combined, these attributes could enable a more rapid adoption of hydrogen power worldwide— especially with recent global government incentives for hydrogen in commercial trucking and delivery vehicle infrastructure, and in military mobility applications. As a result, DeltaHawk is now leveraging its aviation engine architecture to create new variants of its engine family that will use hydrogen fuel in additional applications.
The compact, lightweight, and durable DeltaHawk design, based on patented two-stroke technology, is said to make this new engine family “an ideal solution for hydrogen fuel.” DeltaHawk said its testing in computer simulations is proving superior to legacy four-stroke engine architectures.
“Environmental responsibility is a foundational pillar of our company,” said DeltaHawk Chief Executive Officer Christopher Ruud, in the release. “In the general aviation industry, our family of engines are creating a highly reduced net carbon footprint, coupled with airborne lead removal, thanks in large part to their fuel efficiency and capability to burn next generation sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Now, with our planned ability to expand our engine family to include variants that will utilize hydrogen fuel in aviation, commercial, and military applications, we’ve taken another major step toward environmental sustainability, climate neutrality, and a zero emissions future.”
DeltaHawk said it holds numerous patents for its clean-sheet engine designs. Its team of engineers, designers, manufacturing specialists, and certification experts is building what the company called “an entirely new generation of revolutionary piston engines.”