4th Annual H2-Aero Symposium
"Hydrogen Aviation: Paving the H2 Runway"
April 2–3, 2025 @ Long Beach, California
Book the venue hotel for your discounted group rate!
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 4th 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 4th Annual H2-Aero Symposium is being held April 2–3, 2025, in Long Beach, California (SAE's AE-5CH Hydrogen Airport Taskgroup will meet the day before, on Tuesday, April 1). Like each of the past meetings, 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, including presentations on fuel cell aircraft technology, demonstrations and hydrogen hubs for airports.
Check out the impressive 2024 agenda as an example of what is expected in 2025. Here's the current preliminary agenda overview (pdf).
Note: SAE International will have a meeting of its AE-5CH Hydrogen Airport Taskgroup on Tuesday, April 1, the day preceding the Symposium open to SAE and VFS members. There is no additional charge to attend.
Registration Rates:
| Rates | VFS Member | Non-Member |
| In-person attendee | $650 | $850 |
| In-person speaker | $200 | $350 |
| Virtual attendee | $200 | $350 |
| Registration includes coffee breaks, lunches, social & presentation materials | ||
Background
Following up on Society's successful programs on hydrogen electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft since 2020, our 3rd Annual H2-Aero Symposium is being held to help accelerate development and scale both the hydrogen infrastructure as well as fuel cell aircraft.
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.
After the passage of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the US government has committed $8B to support the development of hydrogen hubs across America. 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.
History
The Vertical Flight Society's 1st H2-Aero Symposium & Workshop in March 2022 was held in Long Beach, California. It a first-of-its-kind event in North America! A major outcome of the workshop was the initiation of a groundbreaking whitepaper that outlines a ground vehicle and aircraft hydrogen hub as a model to commercialize a hydrogen airport. Check out the VFS H2-Aero Team's Multimodal H2-Airport Hub, as well as the available videos, presentations and summary article.
The 2nd H2-Aero Symposium in March 2023, again in Long Beach. Check out our Vertiflite summary article: H2-Aero Symposium: Zero Emissions Aircraft Take Flight. Video recordings are available at no charge for VFS members and available for purchase by the public. Presentation slides are also available for purchase.
The 3rd Annual H2-Aero Symposium was held in March 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of SAE International's AeroTech Conference. The video recordings are available for all VFS members for free, as well as for all attendees (free with the code) and the public for purchase. A download link to the presentations was provided to all attendees; slides are also available for purchase in the VFS Vertical Flight Library (free for VFS corporate members). Read the summary article.
Updated Nov. 23, 2024
Thank you to our 2024 sponsors:
2025 Sponsorship Information:
- Platinum Sponsorship: $5,000 — includes top-billing logos/signage, digital flyer/handout, three complimentary registrations (including speaker) and a 30-minute keynote speaking slot. (Subject to approval and availability)
- Gold Sponsorship: $2,500 — includes logos/signage, digital flyer/handout, one complimentary registrations (the speaker) and a 15-minute speaking slot. (Subject to approval and availability)
- Exhibitor: $1,000 — includes logos/signage, 6' display table and two complimentary registrations.
More details can be found in the 2025 H2 Symposium 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 of only $199 has been negotiated, but you must book your room by March 5 within the hotel block:
Note that the price shown may include additional local and state taxes, but the base price of $199 is correct. California and the EU require displaying various levels of taxes in the price when booking.
Please support the meeting by booking only through the official link, which provides discounted parking, free wifi, a fully refundable reservation until three days prior to arrival, and the lowest price available at the hotel.