ZeroAvia bags US$ 24.3 million for developing large hydrogen-powered aircraft
ZeroAvia has also appointed three new members to the senior team.
ZeroAvia, a zero-emission aviation company, has secured US$ 24.3 million in funding for its latest project of building a 2 MW hydrogen-electric powertrain for a 50 plus seat regional aircraft, H2 Bulletin reports.
This round will help derisk ZeroAvia vision of powering a 100-seat single-aisle aircraft by 2030. Horizons Ventures led the funding, joined by a new investor British Airways, with existing investors, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Summa Equity, Shell Ventures, and Systemiq.
The funding will also help the company with additional commercial airlines initiatives to adopt hydrogen in aviation. So far, the company’s total private investment reached over $53 million and the total funding raised since inception to nearly $74 million.
In December 2020, the UK Government, through BEIS, ATI, and Innovate UK, granted £12.3 million (US$ 16.3 million) to the company for a 19-seat hydrogen-electric powered aircraft to be market-ready by 2023. ZeroAvia also announced its US$ 21.4 million Series A funding round at the same time, speeding up its 600 kW development program set for commercialisation by 2024.
The company expects to achieve commercialisation for its hydrogen-electric powertrain by 2024 and aims to enter the 50 plus seat commercial aircraft segment by 2026.
Val Miftakhov, CEO and founder of ZeroAvia, said, “With many airlines lining up and ready to make the shift to zero-emissions, we expect to see wide-scale adoption of this technology.”
Patrick Poon from Horizons Ventures, said, “‘Flying on jet fuel comes with an environmental cost, and finding an alternative for the aviation industry is vital. We believe ZeroAvia offers a real and practical solution for the aviation market to move towards cleaner options.”
Sean Doyle, CEO of British Airways, said, “Innovative zero-emissions technology is advancing fast, and we support the development of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source because we believe it has the potential to enable us to reach true zero emissions on short-haul routes by 2050.”
ZeroAvia has also added three new members to the senior team: Christine Ourmières-Widener, Ex Vice-President and GM USA for Air France-KLM, CEO and board member of CityJet, CEO of FlyBe and served on the Board of IATA. Mike Friend worked as Boeing Senior Technology Director and consultant for Mitsubishi Aircraft. Mark Blair, a retired FedEx VP of Air Operations and a former Director of Fleet & Government Sales for Cessna Aircraft Company.
