Bankstown and Wellington fuel cell work has helped to verify Vertiia’s powertrain while also feeding electricity into the airport grid, bringing the composites-intensive Australian aircraft closer to flight.  AMSL Aero (Sydney), an Australian zero-emission aircraft designer and
manufacturer, announces the successful completion of its first year of hydrogen fuel cell testing at Bankstown Airport, positioning its long-range electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Vertiia, for emission-free flight testing within 12 months.

Vertiia features an electric motor with a battery, a hydrogen fuel cell and a composite tank. According to a February 2025 article by AMTIL’s Australian Manufacturing Technology (AMT) magazine, AMSL Aero’s decision to go the hybrid route supports reduced operating costs, zero emissions and to enable long range (~1,000 kilometers). The eVTOL aircraft will be used for essential services in Australia such as medical, transfers, passenger and freight services.

So far AMSL Aero has seen positive results based on tests at one of Australia’s busiest airports. Results reveal that since mid-2024, AMSL Aero has used more than 200 kilograms of hydrogen. That is enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool at atmospheric pressure and successfully power its 100-kilowatt fuel cell test bench.

The test bench works as a fully functional mock-up of the hydrogen powertrain for Vertiia, which reportedly made Australian aviation history in late 2024 by making its first free flights. AMSL Aero has won orders for Vertiias from general aviation operators including Bankstown Airport-based Aviation Logistics.

Make strides in eVTOL tech with composites innovation

AMT’s interview with AMSL Aero co-founder, chief engineer and Vertiia inventor Andrew Moore also delves into the aircraft’s local design, manufacture and how fiber-reinforced composite materials are playing a vital role.

Vertiia’s carbon fiber composite components are manufactured by various local Australian companies, including Innovation Composites, CST Composites and Quickstep Holdings, and are being used in “unique areas,” according to Moore which “allows them to do things not viable for other design concepts.” This has included selecting unique manufacturing methods.

“The engineers at AMSL Aero propose a combination of conventional aerospace materials, such as carbon fiber composites, but using them in a slightly unconventional way. Some methods adopted along the way include infusion methods for certain parts,” Moore tells AMT. “We have used film winding for structural components and other more traditional aerospace manufacturing methods, like pre-impregnated composites under a vacuum.”

Read the complete interview here.

“In just one year, our engineering team has successfully demonstrated the practical applications of hydrogen in aviation,” says Chris Smallhorn, chairman of AMSL Aero. “Our collaboration with Bankstown Airport is instrumental in our ongoing mission to offer longer-distance flights that cut both the cost and carbon footprint of travel across Australia and elsewhere.”

Simon Coburn, hydrogen lead at AMSL Aero, says the 200 kilograms of hydrogen used was sufficient to export 30 kilowatts of electricity into the airport grid for three working weeks and slash the airport’s power bill by about 1.8 megawatt-hours 

AMSL Aero has also deployed the test bench to Wellington Aerodrome in rural NSW for recharging Vertiia between test flights.

» Publication Date: 02/06/2025

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