© ZeroAvia
ZeroAvia, the UK hydrogen-electric aviation developer, and Marshall Aerospace, the Cambridge-based military aircraft modification specialist, have agreed to jointly explore hydrogen fuel cell propulsion for defence platforms, the companies announced this week.
Defence emerges as a new front for hydrogen aviation
The tie-up extends hydrogen propulsion’s push into aviation beyond the commercial sector, where certification timelines and infrastructure costs have slowed adoption. Governments are increasingly treating hydrogen and other dual-use propulsion technologies as questions of industrial sovereignty rather than pure decarbonisation, a shift reflected in the UK’s Defence Industrial Strategy, which names dual-use technologies a priority for domestic industrial capability.
What the two companies bring
ZeroAvia supplies flight-tested hydrogen-electric power and propulsion systems, demonstrated on a modified Dornier 228 twin-turboprop in January 2023. Marshall Aerospace contributes decades of experience in military aircraft modification, integration, certification and complex fuel systems; it has been the Royal Air Force’s designated support partner for the C-130 Hercules since 1966 and now serves 17 government operators globally, including the US Marine Corps.
The companies said initial areas of focus will include uncrewed systems, surveillance platforms, logistics aircraft, training and specialist mission aircraft, though neither has named specific aircraft types. Both describe the work as early-stage, centred on prototyping and evaluation, with decisions on deployment to follow as the technology is tested further.
The military case: lower heat signatures, longer endurance
“Defence applications are already demanding greater endurance, lower thermal signatures and more operational flexibility, and we’re focused on proving where this technology fits,” said Christine Ourmières-Widener, ZeroAvia’s Executive Chair, who took over the role in May after founder Val Miftakhov stepped down as chief executive.
Because hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity through an electrochemical reaction rather than combustion, exhaust temperatures run considerably cooler than those of a conventional turboprop; ZeroAvia’s own defence whitepaper, published in November 2025, states that infrared radiation can be cut by up to 80 times. For uncrewed platforms, the company argues hydrogen’s energy density advantage over batteries also extends endurance, while the fuel can potentially be produced in the field from water and electricity, reducing reliance on conventional supply chains in contested environments.
Implications
For investors, the collaboration signals that hydrogen aviation developers are diversifying revenue away from civil certification timelines that remain lengthy and capital-intensive. For policymakers, defence applications offer a route to fund hydrogen propulsion development outside commercial aviation economics, though the market remains nascent: industry forecasts cited by ZeroAvia put the broader defence fuel cell market at $51.7bn by 2033. Neither figure has been independently verified against government or third-party market data in the sources reviewed.
