ZeroAvia secures £18m to kick off large engine development

ZeroAvia is launching the development programme for a 2MW hydrogen-electric powertrain for full-size regional aircraft.

The programme kick-off is supported by a new raise of £17.6 million, led by Horizons Ventures, joined by a new investor British Airways. Existing investors Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Summa Equity, Shell Ventures, and SYSTEMIQ also participated in the financing.

This new round accelerates the larger hydrogen-electric engine development for the 50+ seat aircraft and supports additional commercial airlines initiatives to adopt hydrogen in aviation. The announcement brings the company's total private investment to over £38 million and the total funding raised since inception to nearly £53.7 million.

This latest funding follows the announcement in December that the UK Government – through the Department for Business Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), and Innovate UK – had awarded a £12.3 million grant to deliver a breakthrough 19-seat hydrogen-electric powered aircraft that is market-ready by 2023.

The company announced its £16 million Series A funding round at the same time, accelerating its 600kW development programme scheduled for commercial entry in 2024.

"This new funding, in conjunction with our other recent milestones, will significantly accelerate our path to zero-emission solutions for larger regional aircraft at a commercial scale," said Val Miftakhov, CEO and founder of ZeroAvia. "With many airlines lining up and ready to make the shift to zero-emissions, we expect to see wide-scale adoption of this technology. We are extremely grateful for our investors who are helping to speed up our progress and ultimately the aviation industry's adoption of zero-emission flight."

ZeroAvia expects to achieve commercialization for its hydrogen-electric powertrain as early as 2024. Its hydrogen aviation solutions will address various markets by initially targeting a 500-mile range in 10-20 seat aircraft used for commercial passenger transport, package delivery, agriculture, and beyond. Accelerated by this new capital infusion, ZeroAvia will also target entering the 50+ seat commercial aircraft segment by 2026.

The round will also further derisk the company vision of powering a 100-seat single-aisle aircraft by 2030. ZeroAvia's achievements to date are the first steps in realizing the near-term transition from fossil fuels to zero-emission hydrogen as the primary source for commercial aviation.

ZeroAvia offers hydrogen-fueled powertrain technology to replace conventional engines in commercial aircraft. Adoption of this technology results not only in true zero-emission flight but also in lower fuel and maintenance costs.

The company previously completed its first electric flight in the US in 2019, then built the second flying prototype in the UK, and conducted its first electric flight in June of 2020. In September 2020, it achieved the world's first hydrogen-electric flight of a commercial-grade aircraft.

www.zeroavia.com