Make a Paris-New York flight as fast as a Paris-Venice flight. This is the promise of Destinus. Present at the Bourget Air Show, this Swiss startup based in Rochefort (Charente-Maritime) wants to launch a hydrogen-powered hypersonic aircraft.
“We are exploiting the capacities of hydrogen, three times more energetic than kerosene, to go as fast as possible in order to offer an aircraft capable of flying from Paris to New York in 90 minutes,” Jean-Philippe Girault confides to BFM Business , CEO of Destinus France.
Fly three times faster than the Concorde
In fact, a hypersonic plane is even faster than a supersonic plane, and therefore arouses interest from part of the aviation world, almost 20 years after the end of the Concorde’s commercial career. Destinus’s ambition is to push his plane to Mach 5 (6000 km/h), that is, three times the speed of the supersonic Concorde that only flew “at” Mach2 (just over 2000 km/h).
One of the first challenges for Destinus is to develop the technology to flap this aircraft. If this plane will use conventional materials, the commissioning must ensure that these withstand the high heat involved in a flight at 6000 km/h.
“The difficulty is the heating of certain parts of the plane, in particular the air intakes and the leading edges, explains Jean-Philippe Girault. These parts are treated with hydrogen refrigerant, which avoids having to use exotic materials.”
Technological and regulatory innovations
Two prototypes in the form of a 4 and 10 meter long model have been in the testing phase since last year, he recalls. the new factory, not yet reaching Mach5. The shape of the two planes is very sharp.
“We use these subsonic demonstrators in which we demonstrate a series of technological levers: the use of hydrogen for post-combustion, the use of guidance for vehicle autonomy… It is not really a drone but an autonomous aircraft piloted at the takeoff and landing level. and then it is autonomous”, explains Jean-Philippe Girault.
The latter plans to start up at the end of the decade, in 2031 or 2032. Because along with the technique, there are also many regulatory issues. “There are no regulations and certifications, explains Jean-Philippe Girault. We are working with EASA and Eurocontrol to determine with them what is necessary at the regulatory level.”
For commercial flights, Destinus is considering two families of aircraft. A plane with few seats for wealthy clients with round-trip tickets that could reach the price of business class. And in a second step, another more democratic device could board up to 350 passengers.
The platform may also allow freight transport to be one of the development areas already envisioned by Jean-Philippe Girault. Even the military if the need arises, he explains.
On the financing side, Destinus has already raised close to 40 million euros, specifies the new factory. Europe has also allocated 10 million euros. The startup does not elaborate on the total budget for this new technology. Nor about a possible place of production.
Source: BFM TV
