ZeroAvia has raised $24.3 million (£17.6 million) to develop the two megawatt hydrogen-electric powertrain for a full-size regional aircraft. The consortium of investors includes British Airways.
This new round of fund-raising accelerates the larger hydrogen-electric engine development for the 50+ seat aircraft and supports additional commercial airlines initiatives to adopt hydrogen in aviation.
Today’s announcement brings the company’s total private investment to over $53 million (£38 million) and the total funding raised since inception to nearly $74 million (£53.7 million). As well as British Airways, investors include Horizons Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Summa Equity, Shell Ventures, and SYSTEMIQ.
“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.”
Sean Doyle, British Airways’ CEO, 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.
“There is a huge amount of energy and excitement building around the possibilities of a zero-emissions future for aviation, and while there is no single solution to this challenge, we acknowledge the need for urgent action to tackle the impact flying currently has on our planet and are making progress on our journey to net zero.”
ZeroAvia expects to achieve commercialisation for its hydrogen-electric powertrain as early as 2024. Its hydrogen 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.