The French government is supporting the domestic hybrid aircraft developer VoltAero with a grant of 5.6 million euros. The money is to go towards the development of the Cassio 330 hybrid aircraft.
Read more
Natilus, a developer of autonomous cargo aircraft, has entered into a strategic partnership with ZeroAvia. Specifically, Natilus wants ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric powertrain to help its Kona cargo drone lift off.
Read more
Kawasaki has invested in the French hybrid aircraft developer VoltAero as a new strategic investor. VoltAero has also begun constructing an assembly plant at Rochefort-Charente-Maritime Airport, where the hybrid aircraft is to be built.
Read more- ADVERTISEMENT -
Manufacturer Eviation will deliver 30 of its all-electric planes Alice to UK-based regional aircraft lessor Monte. The two companies have signed a letter of intent, putting total orders for the Alice plane at more than $4 billion.
Read more
The German electric flying taxi start-up Lilium has announced a $250 million capital increase. The young company says it needs around €226 million to last until the first crewed flight in the first half of next year.
Read more
ZeroAvia has started developing the world’s largest zero-emission aircraft based on a decommissioned ‘Dash 8’ jet Alaska Airlines reserved for conversion. Should the hydrogen plane take off, it would be about five times more powerful than anything out there so far, the companies say.
Read more- ADVERTISEMENT -
ZeroAvia, specialising in electric aircraft propulsion, will work with Absolut Hydrogen to evaluate liquid hydrogen production, storage and refuelling at airports.
Read more
German electric flying taxi developer Volocopter announces the completion of its entire production line in Bruchsal. All of the company’s own production facilities will start operations this month. They are expected to produce 50 VoloCity aircraft per year.
Read more
Germany’s eVTOL startup Lilium and Customcells are ramping up production of high-silicon battery cells to get ready for certification. The battery company is now delivering cells from its plant in the German town of Tübingen every week and will produce thousands of cells per year in the future.
Read more- ADVERTISEMENT -
Finnish energy company Fortum and the low-carbon flight specialists from ZeroAvia want to explore developing hydrogen production and refuelling infrastructure at airports. The Memorandum of Understanding mentions a network of zero-emission flight routes.
Read more
Energica Motor Company is getting ready for takeoff. The Italian motorbike manufacturer, a subsidiary of the US group Ideanomics, wants to develop “all-electric solutions for ultra-light and light aircraft.”
Read more
The Chinese air taxi start-up Autoflight has signed a contract with the company Evfly for an initial 205 of its electric air taxis. Evfly specialises in the operation of eVTOLs and their fleet management and is ordering an unspecified mix of the ‘Prosperity I’ and ‘Prosperity Cargo’ models.
Read more
Chinese air taxi startup Autoflight announces what it claims is the world’s longest eVTOL flight to date. Its electric flying cab, ‘Prosperity I’, allegedly covered a distance of 250 kilometres without stopping to charge. The flying taxi is scheduled for certification in 2025.
Read more
US company Universal Hydrogen has completed the first flight of a 40-seat regional aeroplane powered by hydrogen fuel cell power. The ATR 72 regional aircraft was converted to run on hydrogen.
Read more
Solid-state batteries for electric aircraft are the focus of new cooperation between two Belgian companies. Solid-state specialist Solithor and aerospace company Sonaca want to develop solid-state lithium cells for regional aviation and urban air mobility (UAM).
Read more- ADVERTISEMENT -
The joint project ‘HyNEAT – Hydrogen Supply Networks’ Evolution for Air Transport’ will be researching supply networks for hydrogen-powered aviation over the next three years. The focus is on green hydrogen and its cost-effective production and transport.
Read more
Nidec Leroy-Somer has been contracted by Airbus to develop electric motors for a future hydrogen-electric propulsion system. The prototypes are to meet “very high requirements in terms of safety, reliability, energy efficiency and weight”.
Read more
ZeroAvia, a company specialising in electric aircraft propulsion, announced a cooperation with Shell and Rotterdam Airport. The partners want to prepare for commercial passenger flights with H2 aircraft from 2025.
Read more
PowerCell is developing the next generation of fuel cells for aviation as part of the EU’s Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking. The Swedish specialist has joined the ‘Newborn’ project, which aims to develop a megawatt-class fuel cell propulsion system for aircraft.
Read more
Powered by four electric motors with a total output of 100 kW, the Pelican Cargo by Pyka is said to be the largest autonomous electric aircraft to date. The model has a payload of 400 pounds and a range of 200 miles, or 181 kilograms up to 320 kilometres.
Read more
In Germany, H2FLY, a company developing hydrogen fuel cell systems for aircraft, has announced the construction of a facility called the Center of Excellence for Hydrogen in Aviation. The facility is to be located at Stuttgart Airport and is scheduled to open in late 2024.
Read more
XPeng’s flying car subsidiary XPeng Aeroht has received a conditional flight permit from the authorities in China. The company says its Aeroht X2 has thus become the first crewed eVTOL to obtain such a permit in China.
Read more
The development of take-off and landing sites for vertically taking off and landing electric aircraft such as air taxis and drones is the goal of a new cooperation between Siemens and Skyway. To this end, both companies want to determine the electrical and digital infrastructure required to operate such vertiports.
Read more
ZeroAvia, an electric aircraft propulsion specialist, has achieved the next milestone as the company announces the maiden flight of its testbed hydrogen aircraft HyFlyer II. The plane took off from Cotswold Airport in England and remains the world’s largest hydrogen-electric aircraft.
Read more
The US startup Aska has landed a prototype at CES. The Aska A5 is a “flying car” that is an electric VTOL with a significant range while capable of driving on the ground. The company has opened pre-orders and is confident to launch in 2026.
Read more
Stellantis and the Californian flying taxi start-up Archer Aviation have announced a significant expansion of their partnership. They will now join forces to manufacture Archer’s Midnight, the electric VTOL the young company debuted a few months ago.
Read more
The German company H2FLY, which specialises in the development of hydrogen fuel cell systems for aircraft, is taking over project management in the HEAVEN project. The project will test the first passenger aircraft flying on liquid hydrogen (LH2) in 2023.
Read more
The German electric air-taxi start-up Lilium has closed a financing round of 119 million US dollars. Participants in the investment round included existing shareholders, strategic partners, and new investors.
Read more
TotalEnergies, Groupe ADP and the Fédération Française Aéronautique (FFA) have agreed to install charging stations for electric aircraft at three airfields in the Ile-de-France region. The partnership includes the first phase of installation of four charging stations in spring 2023.
Read more
H3Dynamics from Toulouse, France, has presented a decentralised hydrogen propulsion solution for aviation. The company’s concept relies on housing hydrogen and smaller fuel cells in a series of so-called propulsion nacelles under the wings, initially for drone use.
Read more