Universal Hydrogen, a company that aims to decarbonize aviation through the adoption of hydrogen as a universal fuel, signed a letter of intent with ACIA Aero Leasing, a 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.

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,” Paul Eremenko, co-founder and CEO of Universal Hydrogen, said. “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,” Mick Mooney, CEO of ACIA Aero Leasing, said. “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,” Sameer Adam, senior vice president of commercial at ACIA Aero Leasing, said. “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.”