Fokker next-gen: now the Fokker 100 is about to be resurrected as a hydrogen plane

You have to give Rudi den Hertok one thing. He does not give up easily. After working for decades at aircraft manufacturer Fokker and later at maintenance company Fokker Services, he worked for several years to relaunch Dutch regional aviation. It was originally to be called the Fokker 120 NG and later the Fokker 130.

Den Hertok, chief engineer of the Netherlands airline, said six years ago that the new aircraft would offer lower fuel consumption, lower operating costs, lower noise and lower emissions. Nothing came of the plans. But he didn’t let go.

150 flights per year

Den Hertag recently changed jobs. He again became chief engineer, this time of Fokker Next General. The company is located in the same location as predecessor companies Rechof and Nederland Aircraft, and shares the same ownership with investor Job Rosen Jacobsen and his Panta Holdings. And the plan is still the same: to get Fokker back in the sky.

in the newspaper Dutch daily newspaper Fokker explained NextGen’s goals to Hertz boss Jurien Kellerman. According to the managing director, the aim is to deliver the first aircraft to customers in 2035 and eventually build 150 aircraft per year at a factory in the Netherlands. “We think that’s realistic.”

Tests with the Fokker 100

But something is fundamentally different from previous efforts. The new Fokker will no longer fly on kerosene, but on hydrogen. A hybrid variant powered by hydrogen and standard kerosene is also planned.

To do this, Den Herdag, Kellerman and their colleagues at Fokker Next Gen are modifying a Fokker 100 so that it can run on hydrogen. The first test flight is scheduled for 2027.

Some details are known

Not much is known about the Fokker Next Gen. A company with a range of about 2500 kilometers. Fokker Next Gen is still silent on the number of seats. The Fokker 130 had 120 to 130 seats. Because the new plane is powered by hydrogen, space is lost in the back because of the tanks. Therefore, the next-gen Fokker 130 should have a wider fuselage or be longer than the planned 39 meters.

Managing director Kellerman explains that talks are already underway with engine builders Rolls-Royce and Fokker Services. He is very confident that the project will succeed. “The possibility is very high,” he told Netherlands’ Dagblad. One finds a much larger breeding ground for projects now than ever before. “The world is very interested in technologies that lead to low CO₂emissions.”

It needs government help

But Fokker Next-Gen still needs outside help. According to the manager, such a big project cannot be managed without subsidy. After all, they want to set up production in the Netherlands. So far, the company has received 27.5 million euros in grants.

In the gallery above you can see photos of the Fokker 100, the pre-planned Fokker 130 and the Fokker Next Gen. Click on the image to open the gallery in larger format.