Beyond Aero clears PDR
French startup Beyond Aero completed preliminary design review for its BYA‑1 hydrogen business jet, moving to a pusher propfan architecture with fuel‑cell stacks and distributed propulsors—trading increased weight for improved hydrogen integration and drag reduction. The milestone marks a concrete step toward certifiable hydrogen propulsion architectures for business aviation. (aerospacetestinginternational.com) (ainonline.com)
Beyond Aero specifies six 400 kW fuel‑cell stacks for the BYA‑1 powertrain and indicates gaseous hydrogen stored at roughly 700 bar in tanks mounted above the wing box. (aerospacetestinginternational.com) The updated layout moves high‑pressure hydrogen tanks out of the fuselage and into or above the wing box to eliminate cabin‑run fuel lines and improve crashworthiness, a redesign disclosed in March 2025. (ainonline.com) Beyond Aero reported reaching Technology Readiness Level 6 for its integrated fuel‑cell powertrain after full‑scale lab testing in Toulouse, a milestone the company says de‑risks hardware for flight‑test integration. (hydrogenfuelnews.com) A first wind‑tunnel campaign completed on January 19, 2026, collected data on propfan–wing interactions that the company is using to refine thermal‑management, acoustic treatment, and distributed‑propulsor aerodynamic tuning. (ainonline.com) The program documents show an explicit certification path under EASA CS‑25 and FAA Part 25, with a roadmap targeting critical design review in 2026, a design freeze in early 2027, and first deliveries in the early 2030s. (aerospacemanufacturinganddesign.com) Beyond Aero’s corporate filings and third‑party databases list roughly $47.9 million raised from investors including Y Combinator, Initialized Capital and Bpifrance, and the company announced plans for a final‑assembly line in December 2025. (tracxn.com) Contemporaneous reporting notes the recent engine‑architecture change and hydrogen integration have increased aircraft mass versus earlier concepts, highlighting the program’s engineering trade‑space between added weight and certifiable hydrogen system integration. (ainonline.com)
