Prof. Dr.-Ing. Josef Kallo
Co-Founder and CTO, H2FLY
Josef Kallo is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of H2FLY - a company that specializes in the development of hydrogen-electric powertrain systems for aircraft headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. As an entrepreneur, he financed the first round of H2FLY aiming early for a transfer of technology from basic knowledge to a first flying prototype.
Under Kallo’s leadership, H2FLY has achieved significant milestones, including the world’s first liquid hydrogen flight of the HY4 aircraft and the successful development of a high-performance fuel cell system for Joby’s hydrogen-electric eVTOL aircraft demonstrating the potential of hydrogen-electric powertrain systems for various commercial aircraft applications.
Josef Kallo has an extensive background in power electronics and energy technologies with international research collaboration with partners in Japan (JAXA), France (CEA, Onera), and Spain (INTA). From 1999 to 2006, he was a Project Engineer at General Motors Global Alternative Propulsion Center focusing on the application of hybrid powertrains. After that, he coordinated numerous development projects at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) focusing on battery, fuel cell and hybrid-electric powertrains.
Since 2015, he has led research in energy management for hybrid powertrains as a Full Professor at the University of Ulm and additionally assumed the position of Primary Investigator at the Helmholtz Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage. He is a passionate pilot.