This Swiss hypersonic hydrogen-powered jet will cut flights from Europe to Australia to 4 hours

Flying across the world from Europe to a destination such as Australia currently takes around 20 hours in a regular passenger jet.

But a Swiss start-up is looking to cut that journey time down to just over four hours - with a hypersonic, hydrogen-powered passenger jet.

Destinus has been testing its prototype aircraft for the past couple of years, announcing successful test flights of its second prototype - Eiger - at the end of 2022.

Now the company has announced participation in a programme run by Spain’s Ministry of Science, as part of the Spanish government’s plans to develop hydrogen-powered supersonic flights.

The agency overseeing the ministry's programme, the Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico e Industrial, selected the project as a strategic initiative under its Plan de Tecnologías Aeronáuticas (PTA).

With an overall current investment of €12 million, the project involves companies and technology centres as well as Spanish universities.

“We are delighted to have been awarded these grants, especially because they are a clear sign that Destinus is aligned with the strategic lines of Spain and Europe to advance hydrogen flight," Davide Bonetti, VP Business Development and Products for Destinus, said.

“For deep tech companies like us, access to these EU recovery funds is essential to carry out advanced research and accelerate the innovation needed to be competitive on a global scale. With these grants, hydrogen-based solutions for aeronautical mobility will be one step closer to becoming a reality”.

Hydrogen power is the subject of a lot of research and development, with proponents pointing to its green credentials, the main byproducts of hydrogen combustion being heat and water.

The amount of heat generated presents a