Energy, Automobile, EV, Renewable News | ACIA Aero Leasing Signs LOI with Universal Hydrogen for Up to 30 Regional Aircraft Conversions to Hydrogen Power

ACIA Aero Leasing Signs LOI with Universal Hydrogen for Up to 30 Regional Aircraft Conversions to Hydrogen Power

November 13, 2021

The orders cement ACIA’s commitment to leading the decarbonization of regional aviation

LOS ANGELES & DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#aerospace—Universal Hydrogen Co., the company leading the fight to decarbonize aviation through the adoption of hydrogen as a universal fuel, today announced it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with ACIA Aero Leasing (ACIA), a leading regional aircraft lessor with offices in Ireland, France, Canada, Mauritius, and South Africa. ACIA expects to place 10 firm orders for Universal Hydrogen’s ATR 72 conversion kits with additional purchase rights for 20 more conversion kits of various turboprop types.

As an emerging leader in regional aircraft leasing, ACIA is focusing on long-term sustainability in aviation by working with Universal Hydrogen to decarbonize its fleet of turboprop aircraft. Following the aircraft conversions, Universal Hydrogen and ACIA will collaborate on marketing hydrogen fuel services to ACIA’s leasing customers. Universal Hydrogen will deliver green hydrogen to regional airports worldwide using its modular capsule technology to transport hydrogen over the existing intermodal freight network and using existing airport cargo handling equipment.

“ACIA’s diverse customer base allows us to have a major decarbonization impact on regional aviation globally,” said Paul Eremenko, Universal Hydrogen co-founder and CEO. “ACIA’s passenger and cargo aircraft leasing customers will be able to move to true zero emissions operations as early as the mid 2020s, putting them in the vanguard of clean aviation.”

“Our lessees are actively looking for ways to decrease overall costs and reduce their carbon footprint. Decarbonizing our fleet encourages customers and competitors to follow our lead in advancing the development of carbon-free solutions,” said Mick Mooney, ACIA’s CEO. “Collaborating with Universal Hydrogen will have a lasting impact on the environment encouraging our customers and the communities they touch, to increase efforts towards environmental sustainability.”

“Passengers and operators are increasingly seeing environmental sustainability as an important decision factor in the aviation industry,” said Sameer Adam, ACIA’s SVP Commercial. “Fleet expansion, new market engagements, and the development of our leasing portfolio will need to include a plan for adopting carbon-free and sustainable technologies. This engagement with Universal Hydrogen is just the first major milestone in executing our overall sustainability strategy.”

About Universal Hydrogen

Universal Hydrogen is making hydrogen-powered commercial flight a near-term reality. The company takes a flexible, scalable, and capital-light approach to hydrogen logistics by transporting it in modular capsules over the existing freight network from green production sites to airports around the world. To accelerate market adoption, Universal Hydrogen is also developing a conversion kit to retrofit existing regional airplanes with a hydrogen-electric powertrain compatible with its modular capsule technology.

About ACIA Aero Leasing

ACIA Aero Leasing (“ACIA”), a subsidiary of ACIA Aero Capital, is a leading regional aircraft lessor headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and with offices in France, Canada, Mauritius, and South Africa. ACIA manages a current aircraft portfolio of over 50 regional passenger and freighter aircraft on lease to operators in more than 18 countries globally. Through our strategic partnerships, ACIA provides airlines with turn-key leasing solutions from dry leasing through to charter operations.