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ZeroAvia successfully completes first flight of world’s largest hydrogen-electric plane [Video]
Less than a month after receiving a permit to fly from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), hydrogen-electric plane developer ZeroAvia has successfully completed the first flight of its 19-passenger aircraft. It’s maiden flight marks the record for the largest aircraft in the world to be powered by a hydrogen-electric engine, representing a huge moment for clean aviation.
ZeroAvia is a zero-emission aviation company that develops planes that utilize hydrogen-electric propulsion. The company currently operates in the US and UK and previously achieved experimental certificates for prototype aircraft from both the CAA and FAA.
ZeroAvia has been working toward the development of zero-emission commercial plane operations with its 600kW powertrain by 2024, targeting nine to nineteen seat aircraft with a range of 300 miles. That propulsion system will be followed by a two to five mega-watt version, targeting a 700-mile range.
The company already has investments from Alaska Air Group in addition to another $35 million from United Airlines. Last summer, ZeroAvia announced an additional $30 million in funding to help further develop its hydrogen-electric plane technology to get into the air.
In late December, ZeroAvia confirmed that it had finally received the necessary permit in the UK to get its 19-seat Dornier 228 twin-engine aircraft airborne. Today, the company is celebrating the successful journey with the video footage to prove it. Normally, we’d save this for the end of the article, but you need to see it ASAP.
ZeroAvia’s Hydrogen-electric plane finally takes flight
Cool, right?
The company shared details of its HyFlyer II project this morning, including the video footage above. The HyFlyer II program is a major R&D project backed by the UK Government, which targets development of the aforementioned 600kW zero-emission plane powertrain.
The twin-engine plane was retrofitted with ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engine on its left wing, which operated alongside a Honeywell TPE-331 stock engine on the right as a failsafe.
The flight took place from the ZeroAvia’s R&D facility at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire, UK. Earlier today overseas, the hydrogen-electric plane completed taxi, take-off, a full pattern circuit, and landing; it’s maiden flight lasted 10 minutes and all systems performed as expected. ZeroAvia founder and CEO Val Miftakhov spoke to this momentous event for the future of zero-emissions aviation:
This is a major moment, not just for ZeroAvia, but for the aviation industry as a whole, as it shows that true zero-emission commercial flight is only a few years away. The first flight of our 19-seat aircraft shows just how scalable our technology is and highlights the rapid progress of zero-emission propulsion. This is only the beginning – we are building the future of sustainable, zero climate impact aviation. Our approach is the best solution to accelerate clean aviation at scale. Congratulations to everyone on our team and all of our partners and stakeholders for the collective effort that brought us to this monumental day in history.
Looking ahead, ZeroAvia will work toward its certifiable configuration to be finalized and submitted in 2023. When certified, the company will be able to deliver commercial routes using its technology by 2025. The Dornier 228 seen above will face a series of additional test flights from Kemble, followed by demonstration flights departing from other airports.
Remember, ZeroAvia also already has it 2-5 MW powertrain program underway, which can be used to power 90 passenger hydrogen-electric planes and travel much greater distances if successful. The company believes today’s successful flight demonstrates its tremendous progress and leaves cause for optimism for expedited hydrogen-electric powertrain development going forward.
This is an exciting moment for both aviation and zero-emission mobility. Should we watch the video again?
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Environment
Senate passes GENIUS stablecoin bill, giving crypto industry first major legislative win
The World Liberty Financial website arranged on a smartphone in New York, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Senate on Tuesday passed the GENIUS Act, a landmark bill that for the first time establishes federal guardrails for U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins and creates a regulated pathway for private companies to issue digital dollars with the blessing of the federal government.
The bill passed with a 68-30 vote.
It’s a milestone day for the crypto industry, which put around $250 million into the 2024 cycle to elect what’s now considered to be the most pro-crypto Congress in U.S. history, and for President Donald Trump‘s sprawling digital asset empire.
“The GENIUS Act will protect consumers, enable responsible innovation, and safeguard the dominance of the U.S. dollar,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., one of the sponsors of the bill, in a statement.
The bill still faces hurdles in the Republican-held House, but passage in the Senate signals a turning point — not just for the technology, but for the political clout behind it.
The GENIUS Act, short for the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, sets guardrails for the industry, including full reserve backing, monthly audits, and anti-money laundering compliance.
It also opens the door to a broader range of issuers, including banks, fintechs, and major retailers looking to launch their own stablecoins or integrate them into existing payment systems.
The legislation grants sweeping authority to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who last week told a Senate appropriations subcommittee in a hearing that the U.S. stablecoin market could grow nearly eightfold to over $2 trillion in the next few years.
The bill’s passage drew sharp criticism from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who accused Republicans of “rubberstamping Trump’s crypto corruption,” and allowing the president to sell “access to the government for personal profit.”
Merkley had pushed for an amendment to bar elected officials from personally profiting off digital assets, but said GOP lawmakers blocked all efforts to hold a floor vote.
In May, Senate Democrats unveiled the “End Crypto Corruption Act,” spearheaded by Merkley and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, meant to prohibit elected officials and senior executive branch personnel and their families from issuing or endorsing digital assets.
GENIUS now heads to the House, which has its own version of a stablecoin bill dubbed STABLE. Both prohibit yield-bearing consumer stablecoins — but diverge on who regulates what.
The Senate’s version centralizes oversight with Treasury, while the House splits authority between the Federal Reserve, the Comptroller of the Currency, and others. Reconciling the two could take a while, according to congressional aides.
The GENIUS Act was supposed to be the easiest crypto bill to pass, but took months to reach the Senate floor, failed once, and passed only after fierce negotiations.
“We thought it would be easiest to start with stablecoins,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said on stage in Las Vegas at this year’s Bitcoin 2025 conference, which focused heavily on stablecoins.
“It has been extremely difficult. I had no idea how hard this was going to be,” she said.
At the same event, Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., echoed the frustration: “It has been murder to get them there,” he said of the 18 Senate Democrats who ultimately crossed the aisle.
Disrupting legacy rails
Stablecoins are a subset of cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of real-world assets. About 99% of all stablecoins are tethered to the price of the U.S. dollar.
They offer instant settlement and lower transaction fees, cutting out the middlemen and directly threatening legacy payment rails.
Shopify has already rolled out USDC-powered payments through Coinbase and Stripe. Bank of America‘s CEO said last week at a Morgan Stanley conference that the bank is having conversations with the industry and individually exploring stablecoin issuance.
Deutsche Bank found that stablecoin transactions hit $28 trillion last year, surpassing that of Mastercard and Visa, combined.
Still, there are limits. The GENIUS Act restricts non-financial large tech companies from directly issuing stablecoins unless they establish or partner with regulated financial entities — a provision meant to blunt monopoly concerns.
JPMorgan Chase, meanwhile, is taking a different route, launching JPMD, a deposit token designed to function like a stablecoin but tightly integrated with the traditional banking system.
Issued on Coinbase’s Base blockchain, JPMD is only available to institutional clients and offers features like 24/7 settlement and interest payments — part of the broader push by legacy finance to adapt to the stablecoin era without ceding ground to crypto-native firms.
Trump’s stake
While Democrats tried to amend the bill to prevent the president from profiting off crypto ventures, the final legislation only bars members of Congress and their families from doing so.
Trump’s first financial disclosure as president, released Friday, revealed he earned at least $57 million in 2024 alone from token sales tied to World Liberty Financial, a crypto platform closely aligned with his political brand.
He holds nearly 16 billion WLFI governance tokens — the crypto equivalent of voting shares — which could be worth close to $1 billion on paper, based on prior private sales.
That’s just one slice of the Trump crypto pie.
The family’s ventures, which include the controversial $TRUMP meme coin, a $2.5 billion bitcoin Treasury and proposed bitcoin and ether ETFs via Truth.Fi, and a newly launched mining firm called American Bitcoin, reflect an aggressive push into digital finance.
Forbes recently estimated Trump’s crypto holdings at nearly $1 billion, lifting his total net worth to $5.6 billion.
Environment
BYD begins delivering its first luxury electric super sedan just as Ferrari delays a new EV
While Ferrari is pushing back EV plans, BYD is stepping in with its first luxury electric super sedan. BYD kicked off deliveries of the Yangwang U7, a four-motor, flagship electric sedan powerhouse packing nearly 1,300 horsepower.
BYD has a new luxury EV sports sedan to beat Ferrari
Although it was due out next year, Ferrari is delaying plans for its second EV for at least another two years. Two sources close to the matter told Reuters that the decision is due to sluggish demand for EV sports cars.
One source claimed that “real, sustainable demand is non-existent for an electric sports car” and that Ferrari’s second EV is not expected to arrive before 2028.
Meanwhile, BYD officially kicked off deliveries of the Yangwang U7 this month, its first electric luxury super sedan.
Packing four electric motors, the Yangwang U7 delivers up to 1,287 horsepower (960 kW), good for a 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) sprint in just 2.9 seconds. It also includes a massive 135.5 kWh battery, providing a CLTC range of nearly 450 miles (720 km).
BYD’s flagship electric sedan is just as smart as it is powerful. The Yangwang U7 features BYD’s “God’s Eye A” ADAS system, which incorporates three Lidars, five radars, 13 high-definition cameras, and 12 ultrasonic radars.
The system offers smart driving and safety features, including Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) for city and highway use, automated parking, and more.
The interior is centered around a “Star Ring Cockpit” design with BYD’s DiLink smart cockpit system and DeepSeek AI. You can see that there is plenty of screen space, featuring a 12.8″ curved center display and a 23″ driver display. Front and rear passengers get added 6″ entertainment screens.
Like other vehicles under BYD’s luxury Yangwang brand, the U7 features its Disus-Z suspension system, enabling it to “dance” and even jump over things on the road.
The U7 is 5,265 mm in length, 1,998 mm in width, and 1,517 mm in height, which is slightly larger than the Porsche Panamera.
BYD’s luxury EV sedan starts at just 628,000 yuan, or about $87,000 in China. The four-seater variant costs 708,000 yuan, or roughly $98,500, which is still about half the cost of the most affordable Ferrari.
Ferrari still plans to launch its first fully electric vehicle during its Capital Markets Day on October 9, with deliveries kicking off the same month. We got a sneak peek of Ferrari’s first EV earlier this year, after it was spotted in public with a crossover-like design.
According to the sources, the second EV will be more of a high-volume model, with Ferrari planning to deliver around 5,000 to 6,000 units over five years, similar to its typical models.
Ferrari’s first fully electric vehicle won’t be cheap. It’s expected to cost at least 500,000 euros, or over $500,000.
Electrek’s Take
Will BYD’s new Yangwang U7 prove that Ferrari is wrong that luxury EV sports cars don’t sell? Several Chinese EV makers are already proving it, such as Xiaomi, which sold over 200,000 SU7 models in under a year.
In April, BYD’s ultra-luxury Yangwang brand delivered its 10,000th vehicle, following the launch of its first model, the U8, in September 2023.
Yangwang sold 139 vehicles in May, including 22 U7s, 12 U9 electric supercars, and 94 U8 SUVs. As more sales data is released, we will see if Ferrari’s theory that demand for an electric luxury sports car is “non-existent.”
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EV charger operating system manufacturer ChargeLab just launched OpenOCPP, a free and open-source software stack that could majorly simplify life for EV charger manufacturers.
OpenOCPP is the first hardware-agnostic, pre-certified embedded software stack supporting OCPP 1.6J and 2.0.1. In plain terms, it helps EV chargers speak the same language as charging station management systems (CSMS) – and it works across just about any hardware setup, from a lightweight ESP32 microcontroller to a full Linux embedded system.
Right now, most EV charger companies have to spend big on building and certifying their own firmware to support OCPP. That takes 18 to 24 months, slows down rollout, and clogs up innovation. With OpenOCPP, ChargeLab says the timeline shrinks to just a few weeks.
“We’ve designed an incredibly memory-efficient embedded software stack that can run on any underlying hardware,” said ChargeLab CTO Ehsan Mokthari, who also co-chairs the Open Charge Alliance’s OCPP 2.lite working group. “OpenOCPP also comes with enterprise-grade security pre-built, so manufacturers can get up and running quickly.”
ChargeLab is a member of the Open Charge Alliance (OCA), the group behind OCPP. OpenOCPP is being added to the OCA Validation Test Bed, which helps companies verify that their products conform to OCPP standards.
OpenOCPP brings a lot to the table for EV charger makers. It comes with built-in security that meets OCPP 2.0.1’s toughest standards. It doesn’t lock manufacturers into any one provider – it works with ChargeLab’s CSMS or any other backend that supports OCPP. It passes the OCA’s conformance test tool right out of the box and is ready for California’s CTEP requirements. It’s designed to run on microcontrollers with as little as 4MB of memory. And thanks to its modular design and open-source Apache 2.0 license, it’s ready for whatever OCPP throws at the industry next.
One company already using OpenOCPP is FractalEV, a North American Level 2 EV charger manufacturer. They’ve installed units using a beta version of the software across over 20 CSMS platforms.
“ChargeLab’s embedded software stack helped us launch faster,” said FractalEV founder Chris Mendes. “With OpenOCPP going open source, there is really no reason to look elsewhere for an OCPP communication stack.”
OpenOCPP is already running on over 4,000 chargers through manufacturer beta programs, many deployed by major corporate customers with tight cybersecurity standards. As OpenOCPP exits beta today, ChargeLab invites more manufacturers and developers to the project.
Read more: With a $30M raise, SparkCharge takes EV fleet charging off-grid
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