In a major move towards sustainable aviation, Indian conglomerate Darwin Platform Group announced today an initial investment of 1800 crores to develop hydrogen-powered aircraft under the government’s “Made in India” initiative.
The ambitious project, dubbed the “Cryogenic Environment” venture, aims to create aircraft with a conventional fuselage design but powered by liquid hydrogen fuel cells and batteries rather than conventional jet engines.
“Aviation remains one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Shifting to hydrogen-powered flight is crucial for mitigating aviation’s environmental impact,” said Darwin Platform Group Chairman Ajay Harinath Singh. “The Cryogenic Environment project represents a paradigm shift in greener air travel.” 
Key design features include high-swept wings to reduce drag, a hybrid wing-body shape for better aerodynamics and energy storage, and propulsion integrated with the aircraft body via Boundary Layer Ingestion for higher efficiency. Liquid hydrogen (LH2) stored on board will power hydrogen fuel cells to run the electric engines.
While requiring major engineering changes, hydrogen promises a more environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional jet fuel for aircraft. The fuel cells combine hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen to generate electricity, with water vapor as the only emission.
The news comes as the aviation sector faces increasing pressure to reduce carbon emissions and adopt sustainable technologies in the fight against climate change. Several major aircraft manufacturers have hydrogen plane prototypes in development as well.
“The age of hydrogen-powered flight is coming, and Darwin Platform Group intends to be a leader in this space in India,” said Singh. “This is an important step towards making the dream of green air travel a reality.”
