2023 H2-Aero Symposium

2nd Annual H2-Aero Symposium
With the SAE International Hydrogen Airport Taskgroup Meeting
March 28–30, 2023 @ Hilton Long Beach, California
701 West Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, California 90831-3102
Discounted Hotel Reservation Link

Register for this event!

Leading Experts to Address Hydrogen for Aero Applications

Following up on Society's successful programs on hydrogen electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, VFS is hosting our next major event, our 2nd Annual H2-Aero Symposium. This event is being planned and organized by the VFS H2-Aero Team to help accelerate development and scale both the hydrogen infrastructure as well as fuel cell aircraft.

The 2nd Annual H2-Aero Symposium is being held March 28-30, 2023, in Long Beach, California. Like the first meeting, this year's symposium will feature two days of groundbreaking presentations with the latest cutting-edge developments by a who's who of the hydrogen aviation and fuel cell community. Presentations on fuel cell aircraft technology, demonstrations and hydrogen hubs for airports will be held on March 28-29.

As a plus, there will be a unique tour for attendees of the Shell heavy duty vehicle hydrogen fueling facility at the Port of Long Beach on Thursday morning, March 30. Following this, SAE International will hold a meeting of its new AE-5CH Hydrogen Airport Taskgroup — all conference attendees and members are all welcome to attend. The taskgroup's goal is to work between the aircraft and hydrogen industries towards standardization of hydrogen related to the whole value chain at the airport. 

Check out our impressive agenda!

Register now:

If you are unable to register online, please submit the completed Registration Form (PDF) to VFS HQ.

Background

There are challenges in decarbonizing the aerospace industry, especially due to lightweighting and powertrain needs. Larger, heavier eVTOL aircraft that require more power for sustained flight need fuel cells with hydrogen, combined with batteries to achieve zero-emission, all-electric, long-range flights.

Despite the clear advantages of utilizing hydrogen, it still hasn’t been widely embraced as an accepted propulsion approach in North America. Though sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a good transition fuel that helps to reduce CO2, it does not answer all the questions for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, and consumes more resources such as energy and water. Hydrogen, on the other hand, holds tremendous potential in this area as a mid- and long-term replacement of kerosene.

With the passage of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the US government has committed $8B to support the development of hydrogen hubs. In addition, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act offered significant incentives for the large-scale use of hydrogen. Thus, there is great opportunity to utilize these resources towards outfitting hydrogen at airports. 

Though hydrogen is standardized for ground vehicles, it is not yet at scale for use for aircraft. Other impediments include the lack of infrastructure, transporting hydrogen and high costs due to the scale of the industry today. The H2-Aero initiative is seeking to think "outside the box," as it’s certainly possible to bring hydrogen at scale, especially in conjunction with other forms of transportation such as airport ground equipment. The H2-Aero Team has published a whitepaper, “Multimodal H2-Airport Hub,” to cover the scenario for a Hydrogen Hub starting with ground vehicles and later scaling to support an airport with hydrogen aircraft through different scenarios of storage, distribution and production.

Although multiple hydrogen consortia and government bodies have published roadmaps, and the UK and European Union have made great strides in this area, there has been surprisingly little traction for hydrogen aviation in the US. The H2-Aero Team is engaging with government, industry and academic organizations to bring hydrogen for the range of aircraft — from eVTOL, eRotor, eSTOL, LTA and eCTOL — to the forefront, because aviation is one of the most challenging transportation industries to decarbonize and stands to benefit the most from hydrogen.

Join the H2-Aero Team! 

Led by the Chair, Jesse Schneider of ZEV Station, along with a team of experts from around the aviation and hydrogen industries, VFS formed the H2-Aero Team in January 2022 to tackle the tough challenges to commercialize hydrogen at the airport. The goal was to unite the US voice in bringing hydrogen to market in aviation by developing the Multimodal H2-Airport Hub whitepaper that includes a roadmap for policy, demonstration and a H2 Hub, with the goal to establish  Public-Private-Partnership with government and industry. The VFS H2-Aero Team is pushing the envelope to accelerate commercialization of hydrogen aviation.

Get involved: Sign up for the mailing list!

Updated Feb. 27, 2023

Thank you to our sponsors
and exhibitors:

Gold Sponsor:

Exhibitors:

2023 Sponsorship Information: 

• Platinum Sponsorship: $5,000 — includes top-billing logos/signage, digital flyer, three complimentary registrations and a 20-minute speaking slot. (Subject to approval and availability)
• Gold Sponsorship: $2,500 — includes logos/signage, digital flyer, two complimentary registrations.
• Exhibitor: $1,000 — includes logos/signage, 6' display table and one complimentary registration. (SOLD OUT)

More details can be found in the Sponsorship form. Questions? Please contact Valerie Sheehan for more information.

Book your hotel room: The meeting will be held at the Hilton Long Beach at 701 West Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, California 90831-3102. A discounted room rate has been negotiated, so please book your room by March 6 within the hotel block to support the meeting. Booking through the official link provides discounted parking, free wifi, a fully refundable reservation (through March 20) and the lowest price at the hotel.