Airbus and MTU Aero Engines intend to establish a joint venture dedicated to the development and commercialisation of a fully electric propulsion system based on hydrogen fuel cells. The move follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two companies at the Paris Air Show in June 2025.

The new company is expected to begin operations in 2027, subject to regulatory approvals and the completion of required social processes at European and national levels. Although the agreement is currently non-binding, Airbus and MTU describe it as an important step toward the industrialisation of a propulsion system that could eventually be installed on a commercial aircraft.

The planned joint venture is expected to combine Airbus’ experience in commercial aircraft development, fuel cell technologies and liquid hydrogen with MTU’s expertise in engine development, integration, testing, certification and maintenance. The aim is to create a specialised and agile organisation capable of accelerating the development, testing and certification of the new technology.

Bruno Fichefeux, Airbus’ Head of Future Programmes, said the planned joint venture was “the next logical step” in the shared vision of hydrogen-based propulsion for aviation. According to him, by pooling technology and expertise in a dedicated organisation, Airbus and MTU want to create a European company capable of turning advanced research into industrialised and certifiable electric propulsion systems.

MTU says the ambition of the project is to develop a safe, reliable and economical propulsion system that could contribute to climate-neutral aviation. Stefan Weber, Senior Vice President Engineering and Technology at MTU Aero Engines, said the new company should cover the entire life cycle of fuel cell powertrains, from development and testing to certification and commercialisation.

Airbus announced in March 2025 that, as part of its ZEROe programme, it was focusing its efforts on a fully electric propulsion system powered by hydrogen fuel cells. At the time, the company presented an aircraft concept with four 2 MW electric propulsion engines, each powered by a fuel cell system, with hydrogen stored in liquid hydrogen tanks.

MTU has, in parallel, been developing its own Flying Fuel Cell project. The company previously announced that it had established fuel cell testing infrastructure in Munich, including test cells with hydrogen infrastructure, a cooling system and compressed air supply. One of the test cells is intended for testing fuel cell assemblies with an electric output of up to 500 kW per unit.

Hydrogen fuel cell technology generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, with water vapour as the by-product. In flight, such a system would not produce carbon dioxide or nitrogen oxide emissions, which is one of the reasons hydrogen is seen as a possible long-term tool for reducing aviation’s climate impact.

However, developing the engine itself is only part of the wider picture. Airbus and MTU say they will continue working on the emergence of a hydrogen aviation ecosystem and the regulatory framework needed for broader use of the technology. This includes issues related to the production, distribution, storage and supply of hydrogen at airports, without which large-scale commercial use of hydrogen propulsion will not be possible.

If the project proceeds as planned, the Airbus-MTU joint venture could become one of Europe’s key centres for the development of a new generation of aircraft propulsion systems. For Airbus, it would also represent a deeper move into propulsion, an area traditionally separate from aircraft manufacturing and handled by specialised engine manufacturers.