LOS ANGELES & TOULOUSE, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Universal Hydrogen, the company leading the fight to decarbonize aviation through the adoption of hydrogen as a universal fuel, today announced it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Paris-based Amelia (by Regourd Aviation), the first airline to tackle the decarbonization of the French regional sky, for three ATR 72-600 hydrogen conversion kits. This announcement follows Amelia’s November 2021 launch of ‘Amelia Green,’ an internal pledge from the airline to actively find sustainable options to decrease its carbon output.
Amelia is Universal Hydrogen’s first France-based airline customer. In September 2021, Universal Hydrogen opened its first European engineering center in Toulouse, France. The engineering center is supporting the development of conversion kits for retrofitting regional aircraft with a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain such as those for Amelia, as well as the development of modular storage capsules for the distribution of hydrogen to airports. Both announcements reflect Universal Hydrogen’s commitment to grow its presence in France and the EU.
Following the installation of the conversion kits, Universal Hydrogen and Amelia will enter a contract for Universal Hydrogen to provide sufficient hydrogen fuel to power Amelia’s ATR fleet on an ongoing basis. Today Amelia serves over 500 destinations with an average flight time of 90 minutes.
“This commitment from Amelia to powering their fleet with green hydrogen is a harbinger of a true-zero-emissions future for regional aviation,” said Paul Eremenko, co-founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen. “France has been a global leader in driving sustainability goals in its transportation networks, and this important step demonstrates that regional aviation has a bright future as part of the solution rather than part of the problem.”
“Amelia is proud to be the first airline client of Universal Hydrogen in France, proving our entrepreneurial DNA and strong drive to have a positive impact on our environment. It’s also of course imperative for our company to be the regional airline of choice for French travelers. To achieve this, our routes must meet their needs and our products and services must align with their values. After launching ‘Amelia Green,’ we proactively sought out companies to work with to decarbonize our fleet,” said Alain Regourd, President of Amelia. “With the help of Universal Hydrogen, Amelia is leading the way in zero-carbon aircraft and becoming a bellwether for sustainability in the French aviation industry.”
About Amelia by Regourd Aviation
Created in 1976 by Alain Regourd, Amelia by Regourd Aviation quickly became a key player in the airline industry in Europe and in Africa, combining safety, high expectations and punctuality. The Amelia fleet of 19 aircraft meets the needs of its various international activities: scheduled routes operated under its flag or for major European airlines, air freight, staff logistics, medical evacuations and charter flights. As part of its quality and safety program, Amelia is IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) certified, the IATA reference standard verifying the safety of air carriers’ operating procedures.
Amelia International currently operates daily flights on behalf of Air France to Paris, Aurillac, Tarbes-Lourdes and Castres. In January 2020, the group launched its own network with the Rodez–Orly and Clermont-Ferrand–Orly routes, and with one new route in 2022, Brive - Paris Orly. In 2019, the group carried more than 280,000 passengers and served 500 destinations.
About Universal Hydrogen
Universal Hydrogen is making hydrogen-powered commercial flight a near-term reality. The company takes a flexible, scalable, and capital-light approach to hydrogen logistics by transporting it in modular capsules over the existing freight network from green production sites to airports around the world. To accelerate market adoption, Universal Hydrogen is also developing a conversion kit to retrofit existing regional airplanes with a hydrogen-electric powertrain compatible with its modular capsule technology.
