The Next Generation Aircraft Power List

The coming boom in low and zero emission aircraft, and who we tip to succeed.

A report by

INTRODUCTION

Following on from our Urban Air Mobility and Carbon Removal powerlists, we’ve now turned our attention to the next generation aircraft that we will see flying within the next ten years.

What do we mean by next generation aircraft?

The next step up from eVTOLs, these are 10-40 seat planes that are either carbon neutral or with a vastly reduced carbon footprint.

Also referred to as AAM (advanced air mobility), these aircraft are powered by three different technologies, which we will go on to explore in this report: Electric, hybrid-electric and hydrogen-electric (there is also hydrogen-combustion, which Airbus is looking at).

Some companies are retrofitting existing aircraft (e.g. ZeroAvia and the Dornier 228), while others want to build completely new aircraft (e.g the Eviation Alice and the Heart Aerospace ES-30).

At SimpliFlying, we’re excited about the potential of these aircraft for two reasons.

First of all, they could have an immediate transformative effect on many communities, due to the fact that next generation aircraft will initially be on regional routes.

They solve the biggest issues around small and urban airports - noise, pollution and cost.

At a time when the aviation industry is under pressure to cap growth, we could actually see more people flying thanks to these planes, but in a less carbon intensive way.

Secondly, many of the companies we feature have a road-map to move from 19 to 50 to 100 aircraft, so the technology used in regional aircraft in 2029, could well form the basis of newer 100-200 seat narrowbodies in 2039.

Our power-list

There are dozens of next generation aircraft or engine manufacturers.

The majority of them are still sitting on the drawing board and / or looking for investors.

Given that bringing a new aircraft from design to certification to commercial flight is a $1-$2 billion play, clearly very few will make it.

In this report we’ve looked at ten players that have a good chance of commercial success in the next decade, based on their technology, level of interest from airlines

(and pre-orders), where they are in the development cycle and investors.

They are:

Ampaire

Cranfield Aerospace Solutions

Electra

Eviation

Faradair

Heart Aerospace MagniX

REGENT

Universal Hydrogen

ZeroAvia

Note, we’ve not covered eVTOLs here, instead you will find them in our Urban Air Mobility (UAM) power-list

Dirk Singer Head of Sustainability, SimpliFlying dirk@simpliflying.com

(Image from Eviation)

WELCOME TO ISIOLO, KENYA

It is 2030 in Isiolo, Kenya. Located in the centre of the country, Isiolo has for the past decade been promoted as a resort city thanks to the proximity of the Samburu and Shaba Game reserves.

A major part of Kenya’s Vision 2030 Plan, Isiolo is in the process of being redeveloped to include casinos, hotels, upscale retail outlets - all resulting in jobs for the local population.

Key to that has been the airport, as a road journey to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi takes over five hours. The airport received a new terminal in 2017, and had its runway refurbished.

During the 2010s and 2020s, air services were sporadic.

East African did run some services to Wilson Airport in Nairobi, but by 2022 had stopped doing so as regional aviation involving a relatively small number of passengers can be expensive, once fuel and maintenance costs are factored in.

Thankfully by the end of the decade, flights had returned. They consist of electric and hybrid aircraft that provide five flights a day to Nairobi, an air distance of only 120 miles.

These electric aircraft are cheaper to maintain, which helps keep ticket prices down, and the noise levels are minimal.

One charge in Nairobi also works for the return flight, with a back-up charging station in Isiolo itself.

The result has been a boon to the local economy. Residents can be in Nairobi 5x faster than before on a zero carbon flight. Local exports, such as fresh flowers, are much easier to get out.

Tourists are also coming to the nearby game reserves, transferring from longer haul flights in Nairobi that are increasingly powered by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

The lodges and reserves themselves are committed to green tourism, resulting in end to end sustainable travel.

THE COMING BOOM IN LOW EMISSIONS REGIONAL AVIATION

In a 2021 presentation to Chalmers University in Gothenburg, Heart Aerospace CEO Anders Forslund showed a map of US communities that were served by small regional aircraft in 1994, but where air services have now gone.

For example, the ski resort of Steamboat Springs, Colorado has an airport that until 1997 had up to ten flights a day to Denver, Colorado.

Those flights are no more, and the airport is only served by private aircraft.

Meanwhile in Europe, France’s 150 regional airports (of which 84 are commercial) are wondering how they can survive long term post Covid and as there is a push to move people off regional flights and onto trains.

Turning to West Africa, there are reports of a private aviation resurgence as entrepreneurs find they need to use executive jets for business, given the road infrastructure and lack of good regional connectivity.

Private jets are of course expensive and have a big per passenger carbon footprint.

Next generation aircraft makers say they have a solution to these problems.

A group of emerging electric, hybrid and hydrogen-electric aircraft manufacturers promise to revitalise communities and connect them with larger transportation hubs with new, carbon neutral flights.

The reach and potential could be groundbreaking.

For example, Ampaire’s Kevin Noertker references NASA’s regional air mobility report (which he helped put together, and which we reference in the next section) in talking about 5000 smaller underutilised airports in the USA, which could be served by small carbon neutral aircraft.

As a result, at a time when authorities in some countries are trying to discourage short haul flights due to sustainability concerns, we actually could be on the brink of a new sub regional aviation boom, which sees more people fly than ever before.

Those flights will be sustainable, economical to run, and will bring real tangible benefits to communities.

The area of regional air mobility (RAM) in the United States was extensively covered in an April 2021 report by NASA.

The report was produced in collaboration with a number of sustainable aviation company leaders including Kevin Noertker and Susan Ying of Ampaire, Roei Ganzarsk of magniX and Eviation (he now heads up software company Alitheon) and Bryan Lynch of Explorer Aircraft.

The crux of the report is that regional air mobility (RAM) is on the threshold of a renaissance due to the advent of new aircraft which are sustainable, cheaper to run and quieter.

As NASA says in its conclusion:

“The local airport you may not have even known existed will soon be a catalyst for change in how you travel. It will be a

gateway from your doorstep to the rest of the world.

“It will be a hub for local, renewable energy. It will make sure that your community has rapid access to convenient commerce options and critical supplies. Best of all, it doesn’t rely on miraculous technology or infrastructure advancements - the groundwork is already in place.”

The report is obviously US-focused, but its findings are equally applicable to other areas of the world, and not just the Global North.

In fact, that is why we opened this report talking about the hypothetical example of Isiolo, Kenya, at the start of the next decade. Or not so hypothetical, as you could imagine that Kenya with its 60 airports and airstrips, would be one market for carbon neutral regional flights.

“FLY FROM THE LOCAL AIRPORT YOU DIDN’T EVEN KNOW EXISTED”

(Image from Eviation)

THE DIFFERENT NEXT GENERATION AIRCRAFT SOLUTIONS

The companies that we’ve profiled in this report follow four different technologies and two different routes.

An electric battery powers the aircraft. The infrastructure needed here is relatively easy, as you can create charging stations at airports, but there are of course challenges with battery technology, especially the weight to distance issue.

MIT Technology Review recently had a piece on the current limitations with batteries. According to analyst Jayant Mukhopadhaya from the International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT), “We were surprised by how terrible the range was, frankly.”

This comes as the only EASA certified electric aircraft at time of writing is the two seater Pipistrel Vellis Electro, which has a range of under an hour.

However, it’s fair to say that what we see with Pipistrel is only the start, and battery technology is evolving all the time.

So the goal of electric aircraft for regional routes is realistic, beyond that however it’s fair to question how much battery technology can evolve.

(Image from Hybrid-Electric company Ampaire, the ‘Eco Otter’, a modified DHC6 Twin Otter))

Hybrid-electric

Like a hybrid car, these aircraft are both electric battery and combustion engine powered, with the fuel ideally being Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Especially if they don’t have SAF, they could more accurately be described as low emission rather than zero emission aircraft.

Hydrogen-Electric

Hydrogen electric or hydrogen fuel cell technology involves hydrogen being compressed into gas, and a fuel cell powering an electric motor.

Hydrogen combustion

Hydrogen combustion involves putting liquid hydrogen directly into turbine engines.

While the electric route has challenges around the battery and range, hydrogen has more infrastructure challenges, as you will need hydrogen provision at every airport aircraft fly from - and potentially at emergency landing airports on route.

Hydrogen combustion (though not hydrogen electric) also has challenges around contrails and NOx emissions, which is why aircraft manufacturer Airbus is testing hydrogen engines on two gliders in North Dakota in early 2023, under Project Blue Condor, before deciding whether to take the hydrogen programme further.

(Image via REGENT)

Retrofit or new aircraft?

At the same time, companies are either retrofitting existing aircraft, or developing completely new ones.

For example ZeroAvia is working on first of all retrofitting a Dornier-228, but wants to soon move to the CRJ Series of regional jets.

Similarly, magniX has been modifying Harbour Air’s fleet of seaplanes. Both companies could probably be considered the GE or Rolls Royce of next generation aviation.

Then there are companies looking to produce their own aircraft from scratch, such as Heart Aerospace, Regent, Eviation and Faradair.

Making new aircraft is obviously more future proof, while retrofitting existing ones has advantages when it comes to speed and certification.

WHERE COULD NEXT GENERATION AIRCRAFT THRIVE IN THE NEXT DECADE?

The use cases are vast. Here are just just a few examples, of where regular 10-40 seat carbon neutral flight services could thrive:

1 - Commuter flights between major cities that are close together.

Think Newcastle to Manchester in the UK, or HamburgCopenhagen, or Washington DC - Richmond, Virginia

2 - Flights to remote tourist destinations. We’ve mentioned Kenya, and some lodges have their own air strips.

The potential is for these flights to become cheaper and carbon neutral. Other possibilities include flights to ski resorts, for example in British Columbia from Vancouver

3 - Island flights, for instance in the Scottish islands, Hawaii, Indonesia or in the Philippines

4 - Flights to geographically remote communities, for example in the Australian outback, or between the Norwegian Fjords

5 - Medevac flights

6 - Smaller aircraft can of course be converted for cargo

7 - Flights from small regional airports that have lost regular service, due to regional airlines no longer finding it economical to operate a 40 seat turboprop.

Examples could include Carlisle in NW England, which until 2020 had occasional services from Loganair.

In the US, Williamsport Regional Airport in Pennsylvania has a catchment area of 200,000, but lost services in October 2021 when American Airlines stopped operations.

8 - Existing routes served by small aircraft, which can be replaced by newer next generation, low noise, carbon neutral planes

For example, the 19 seat DHC-6 Twin Otter is in use by a number of airlines worldwide for smaller routes.

That includes Air Inuuit in the Canadian North, SVG Air in St Vincent & the Grenadines, MAS Wings in East Malaysia and Loganair in the Scottish Islands.

The Beechcraft 1900 is also still in use by some airlines such as Alpine Air Express, a cargo airline in Utah, Pacific Coastal Airlines in British Columbia, Buddha Air in Nepal and Trans Guyana Airways in Guyana.

Ampaire’s ‘Eco Otter’ is one example of an aircraft that could work here.

Looking at slightly bigger aircraft, in the 30 seat range, the Saab 340 is also no longer in production, but is still in use by quite a few airlines. Examples include Silver Airways in Florida, Cayman Airways, Rex Airlines in Australia and Air Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.

Heart’s ES-30 could of course act as a replacement.

And going one stage further,, one reason why United has invested in ZeroAvia is to decarbonise its United Express service, as ZeroAvia has plans to retrofit CRJ regional jets with a ZeroAvia powertrain.

9 - On demand private aviation services. Ampaire, Eviation and Electra are making zero emissions aircraft suitable for this market - and have pre-orders.

10 - Executive and private aviation. With private aviation coming under increasing pressure, with calls in France to even ban private aviation, there is a place for low or no carbon executive aircraft.

LOOKING BEYOND REGIONAL AVIATION

As NASA says, Regional Air Mobility (RAM) is of great benefit to local communities and economies, and we could see more people flying short distances on zero emissions flights.

But what about the next stage, beyond regional aviation?

The most likely answer is that Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) will have to do a lot of the heavy lifting on the road to net zero.

The most likely answer is that Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) will have to do a lot of the heavy lifting on the road to net zero.

In its Vision 2050 Report, the ICCT gave a number of scenarios for aviation. The most ambitious and optimistic scenario, “breakthrough” shows zero emission planes (ZEP) being a small part of that, with SAF accounting for the biggest share of decarbonisation.

The reason for that is simple, the current commercial aircraft fleet is c.25.,000 aircraft.

In its Vision 2050 Report, the ICCT gave a number of scenarios for aviation. The most ambitious and optimistic scenario, “breakthrough” shows zero emission planes (ZEP) being a small part of that, with SAF accounting for the biggest share of decarbonisation.

The reason for that is simple, the current commercial aircraft fleet is c.25.,000 aircraft.

Aircraft coming off the production lines today will quite possibly still be flying in 2050 -the leasing companies in particular that own many of these aircraft want maximum value from their investment and will look for a second, third or even fourth operator.

The only solution for those aircraft are drop-in fuels, ideally E-Fuels made from renewable energy.

The long term picture

However, the companies we feature in our power-list could have a major impact in the long-term.

Eventually we imagine that the aircraft market will go the way of the automotive market, with regulators stepping in. For example, the electric car market has had a huge boost, with California banning the sale of gas powered cars from 2035

Aviation is growing, and as Heart CEO Anders Forslund pointed out in the recent Heart Aerospace Hangar Day, the incremental improvements the industry is making with e.g. more fuel efficient planes, will not be enough to stop aviation from increasing its share of 3% carbon emissions.

As a result, other authorities may well follow the example of Norway, which wants electric aircraft to be used on domestic routes from 2040.

When that happens, it will be the names on our power-list that come to the fore, along with the technologies and solutions they are developing.

Indeed, when that time comes we could well see multi billion dollar acquisitions with Boeing and Airbus buying some of these companies outright.

THE NEXT GENERATION AIRCRAFT POWER LIST

Here are the ten next generation regional aircraft manufacturers we tip to succeed, that means we believe they will have aircraft in service with partners by the beginning of the next decade.

As with our other reports we’ve looked at the management team, pre-orders and airline partners, the technology, funding, and where each company is in the development cycle.

Ampaire

Cranfield Aerospace Solutions

Electra

Eviation

Faradair

Heart Aerospace MagniX

REGENT

Universal Hydrogen

ZeroAvia

AMPAIRE

Based in - Hawthorne, California Aircraft - Electric EEL, Eco Caravan, Eco Otter (all retrofits), Tailwind Technology route - Hybrid electric and electric

CEO - Kevin Noertker has an avionics background, having been at NASA and Northrop Grumman. As Ampaire’s CEO since 2016, Kevin Noertker also served in 2021 and 2022 as the founder of the Amp division of Surf Air, a private aviation charter marketplace that is looking to transition to low or zero emission flights.

Co-Founder Cory Combs likewise came from Northrop Grumman, as part of the advanced aircraft programs unit, where he was an R&D engineer on multiple X-planes intended to test novel concepts.

Ampaire is initially looking at retrofitting existing aircraft and then eventually developing its own.

Its flight plan sees it first of all running tests with a hybrid-electric powertrain on modified Cessna 337s, which it calls the “Electric EEL.”

The Electric EEL broke the record for a non-stop flight of a hybrid-electric aircraft by flying between Mojave, California, and Hays, Kansas, a 1135 mile route.

The “Eco Caravan” is an eleven seat Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, which can achieve a 90% reduction in emissions if SAF is used (like the Electric EEL, the Eco Caravan is hybrid-electric). This will be the first Ampaire aircraft to be in service.

The Eco Caravan was the aircraft that on demand private aviation company Surf Air was intending to use for its California route network.

Surf Air was considering buying Ampaire, but is no longer doing so, and so Ampaire now talks about the intention to “move forward as an independent company on its mission to reduce aviation emissions.”

However, WingTips, another California aerial mobility provider has announced a firm order for five Eco Caravans, with options for 20 more, and eventual expansion plans to have a fleet of 175 of these aircraft.

WingTips plans to use these new aircraft on regional routes of 100 to 400 statute miles, flying mainly from general aviation airports.

Operating cost reduction of 25-40% Ampaire says that the Eco Caravan uses 70 percent less fuel on short trips and 50 percent less on longer trips with corresponding emissions reductions.

When using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), emissions reduction is nearly 100 percent.

Total operating cost reduction ranges from 25 to 40 percent, depending on route structure.

The aircraft can operate independently of ground charging infrastructure by recharging the batteries in-flight when desired, as with hybrid-electric cars today.

Electric Power Systems (EP Systems) will be supplying the propulsion battery pack for the Eco Caravan.

Ampaire says this is the first hybridelectric aircraft to enter the certification process with the FAA. A supplemental type certification for the upgraded aircraft is expected in 2024.

The “Eco Otter”, is the next aircraft in Ampaire’s product cycle. This will be a retrofitted DHC6, which can be used on short regional routes of the kind we talked about in this report.

Finally, the Tailwind will be a new, fully electric aircraft. For now, this is still at the concept stage.

As well as being active in California, Ampaire has done a number of test flights in the UK.

Last year, it ran hybrid electric flights using the Electric EEL between Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, and John O’Groats at the Northern point of the Scottish mainland.

CRANFIELD AEROSPACE SOLUTIONS

Based in - Bedfordshire, UK Aircraft - Project Freeson Technology route - Hydrogen Electric Website - https://cranfieldaerospace.com/

CEO - CEO since 2015, Paul Hutton previously held executive positions at Thales and Astrium (Airbus UK). He also led and grew the UK Public Sector Cloud and Cyber business for Computer Science Corporation.

Spun off from Cranfield University (with which it maintains close links), Cranfield Aerospace Solutions is initially working on a hydrogen-electric conversion.

This involves the 10 seat BN2 Islander, one of the best selling small regional aircraft types. Cranfield Aerospace is running the project under the name ‘Project Freeson.’

Initially the aim was to run the Islanders via a hybrid-electric powertrain, but in 2021, the project switched to hydrogen fuel cells. The first flights are planned for 2023 or 2024.

Once the BN2 Islander conversion programme has been completed, the next phase will be to convert a 19 seater such as the Twin Otter.

After that, Cranfield Aerospace wants to develop its own aircraft, starting with a small 19 seater, before moving to a 75 seat aircraft before the end of the decade.

Germany’s EVIA AERO – a start-up airline focusing on providing zero-emissions sub-regional air services within Europe, has signed an agreement with Cranfield Aerospace, becoming the first Project Freeson customer.

easyJet is providing advice and expertise to Cranfield Aerospace, while Loganair is interested in using the converted Islanders on its Scottish island routes

Investors in Cranfield Aerospace Solutions include the Strategic Development Fund (SDF), the investment arm of the Tawazun Economic Council of the UAE, Motus Ventures as well as Hydrogen One Capital Growth and Safran.

ELECTRA

Based in - Falls Church, Virginia Aircraft - Electra eSTOL Technology route - Hybrid-electric Website - https://www.electra.aero/

Electra Founder and CEO John Langford previously founded Aurora Flight Sciences in 1989 and served as Chairman and CEO through 2019. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and served as President of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) from 2018-2020.

Electra arguably competes as much with the companies in our Urban Air Mobility powerlist, as it does with the other names we have featured in this report.

That’s because it is developing small (nine seat) eSTOL (electric short takeoff and landing) aircraft that will probably be on many of the same kind of routes served by eVTOL aircraft.

We have however included Electra in this report as it does off and land in a ‘conventional’ way, just with only a very short 300 foot runway required.

It can also carry more passengers, with eVTOLs right now only being capable of transporting four people and a pilot.

In September, Electra successfully completed a fully integrated test of the proprietary hybrid-electric propulsion system, which is obviously an important milestone when it comes to developing its low-carbon emissions, electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft.

Electra also bought eSTOL competitor Airflow in June, integrating its technology and its order book into its own. The result is that Electra now has 800 pre-orders for its aircraft.

That includes pre-orders from Singapore based Private Air Mobility Platform Yugo, the US Air Force, Germany’s flyv, and El Azufre, a 21st century ‘clean-energy ski resort’ located in the Andes Mountains.

Earlier this year, Electra secured an investment from Lockheed Martin Ventures.

Meanwhile, Bristow is collaborating with Electra on developing a full range of safety and operational features to ensure the new eSTOL aircraft’s final configuration, specifications and design features meet customer as well as FAA, EASA and Transport Canada certification and timeline requirements.

Bristow and Electra will also look towards using the eSTOL aircraft on Bristow’s own network for oil and gas customers and search and rescue.

EVIATION

Based in - Moses Lake, Washington Aircraft - Alice Technology route - Electric Website - https://www.eviation.co/

CEO and President is aviation industry professional Gregory Davis. Eviation was originally an Israeli start-up, co-founder Omer Bar-Yohay has now left the company. Like magniX, Eviation is owned by Singapore-based Clermont.

Eviation is currently working on an electric aircraft called the Alice (with a nod to Lewis Carroll).

Itincludesaninepassengercommuterversion,aswellasexecutiveandcargoversions.

Withaverysleek,distinctivelook,theAlicehadbeenundergoingtaxiingtrialsoverthe Spring and Summer.

The aircraft had its first test flight on 27 September as this report was going to publication, after performing several taxi tests the week before.

In preparation for the test phase, the project had in the Summer been moved to Moses Lake, Washington.

The Alice will run on a battery motor, with the engine developed by magniX. Being all electric, the Alice will have zero emissions, and have a range of just over 250 nautical miles.

(Image via Eviation)

The company already has an impressive list of pre-orders. This includes an order of 75 aircraft from Massachusetts based Cape Air, 50 aircraft from Florida based Global Crossing Airlines and orders from DHL.

WithHeartAerospacehavingswitchedtoahybrid-electricmodel,Eviation(andpartner magniX)isnowoneofthemosthighprofileexamplesofallelectricpoweredaircraftfor regional and commuter flights.

ApieceinRollingStoneearlierthisyear,whenfounderOmerBar-Yohaywasstillatthe company explains why the company went down the battery electric route.

Bar-Yohay concentrated on the design and weight of the aircraft, so that it could make the 250+ mile range with a battery. Nevertheless, the battery packs still weigh 8000 pounds and are on either side of the fuselage.

However, in terms of operating costs, that comes at 50%+ lower than an equivalent jet operating the same kind of routes.

(Image via Eviation)

FARADAIR

Based in - Duxford / Cambridge UK Aircraft - BEHA

Technology route - Hybrid Electric Website - https://www.faradair.com/

CEO - Neil Cloughley has an aviation background, having previously been at Cabot Aviation, Compass Capital Corporation as well as Tech Dawn Aviation Consultants in San Francisco. Neil Cloughley founded Faradair in 2014.

Though it’s been around for eight years, Faradair has recently had a renewed burst of interest and press coverage in outlets such as the BBC and Michael Gale’s Forbes podcast.

Faradair is working on a hybrid-electric 19 seater called the BEHA (Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft). According to Neil Cloughley, the vastly reduced operating costs will allow for cheap inter-city regional routes such as London - Manchester in the UK for £25 ($29). Neil Cloughley says that these cheap hybrid-electric flights could become the Greyhound of air travel.

Faradair is another company that has decided to install MagniX’s electric motors into its aircraft, rather than design its own.

The BEHA has a very distinctive design, which involves a triple wing. The aircraft will draw on solar panels for ‘always on’ cabin ground power. It can land on very short runways, and like other aircraft in this report are cheaper to operate and maintain.

As well as MagniX, Faradair has also secured a partnership with Honeywell, to collaborate on systems and a turbogeneration unit that will run on sustainable aviation fuel to power the BEHA aircraft

Faradair intends to deliver 300 hybridelectric BEHAs into service by 2030, of which 150 will be in a firefighting configuration.

According to Runway Girl, Faradair won’t sell the aircraft, instead it will own the aircraft and sell services, in what sounds like a kind of wet lease model.

In that respect, Faradair looks to be adopting the same model as Wisk, which we profiled in our Urban Air Mobility Report. Wisk will initially operate its eVTOL aircraft on behalf of other parties.

(Image via Faradair)

HEART AEROSPACE

Based in - Gothenburg, Sweden

Technology route - Hybrid electric Aircraft - ES-30

Website - http://heartaerospace.com/

CEO - Anders Forslund was a senior researcher at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, where he coordinated the project ELISE-”Electric Air Transport in Sweden”. He started Heart Aerospace in 2018

Listen to Anders Forslund’s interview with Shashank Nigam as part of the Sustainability in the Air podcast, out in October 2022.

On September 15th, Heart Aerospace received a huge industry vote of confidence when at the company’s Hangar Day, CEO Anders Forslund announced Air Canada and Saab as investors in the company.

At the same time, Air Canada placed a firm order for 30 aircraft, and United and Mesa confirmed their order for 100 aircraft.

(Image via Heart Aerospace)

Other airlines looking to buy the ES-30 include Icelandair, New Zealand’s Sounds Air, SAS and Braathens.

As well as the above companies, a wider advisory board includes Air New Zealand, London City Airport, Cebu Pacific and Republic Airways.

The biggest development was however the announcement of the ES-30, a 30 seat hybrid-electric aircraft to come into service in 2028.

This replaces the 19 seat all electric 19 seat ES-19, that the company had previously been working on.

The switch to hybrid electric (or reserve hybrid as Anders Forslund calls it) and from 19 to 30 seats was made for battery weight and range reasons.

The ES-30 will have a range of 200km, or 400km if the turbine engines are used.

The new aircraft also meets many of the requirements airlines have with regional aircraft, such as the ability for passengers to take 25kg of luggage, a standard 31 inch seat pitch in a 1-2 configuration, and the option of a galley and WC in front.

Of course, the ES-30 will be very low noise, which is important given that aircraft noise is a big issue around many commuter and regional aircraft.

(Image via Heart Aerospace)

Anders Forslund says that the next step after the ES-30 is to work on the development of 50 seat aircraft, which would obviously start putting Heart in competition with more established regional aircraft makers such as ATR.

In fact, Anders Forslund has held out a vision of a vast decentralised network of regional routes with zero or low emission aircraft, where you can fly point to point, rather than have to go through a hub.

According to Anders Forslund, the potential exists to turn aviation from one of the most emissions heavy into one of the most sustainable and cheapest forms of transport.

To make all this possible, Heart is developing a new aircraft production facility in Gothenburg called The Northern Runway.

Speaking to Shashank Nigam as part of the Sustainability in the Air podcast, Anders Forslund estimated that bringing the aircraft to commercial flight would require around $1 billion.

Though the business has got a number of very high profile backers, Anders Forslund also held out the prospect of the market maturing to the extent that instruments such as green loan guarantees might become more prevalent.

Though Heart Aerospace hasn’t announced what electric powertrain will be used on the ES-30, Flight Global remarked that magniX, including the company’s chief technical officer, was in the audience at the company’s Hangar Day.

(Image via Heart Aerospace)

Based in - Everett, Washington Aircraft - Works with existing aircraft manufacturers Technology route - Electric motor manufacturer Website - https://www.magnix.aero/

CEO - Nuno Taborda joined magniX from Rolls Royce, where he was senior vice president of production programmes in Berlin, and also managing director of Rolls Royce Brazil.

With the same owner as Eviation (Singapore based investment fund Clermont), magniX can accurately be described as a GE or Rolls Royce of electric aviation.

That’s because magniX’s electric motors power other electric or hybrid-electric aircraft. As well as sister company Eviation, magniX engines will be used in the Faradair BEHA.

As mentioned previously, representatives of magniX were also present during Heart Aerospace’s recent Hangar Day, so it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see an announcement over the next year about magniX’s engines making it into the ES-30.

Perhaps one of the high profile customers of magniX is Canadian sea-plane company Harbour Air, which has been working with magniX over the past few years on retrofitting the company’s aircraft.

On 17 August, the first point to point commercial aircraft flight took place when Harbour Air flew a converted De Havilland Beaver floatplane (“eBeaver”) from Vancouver to Victoria, British Columbia.

(Image via MagniX)

Harbour Air says that this is the next step towards offering regular electric commercial flight on its British Columbia route network.

Another major retrofit project is that announced by magniX’s Australian partner Dovetail, to convert aircraft from Australian airline Rex, which is one of the largest remaining operators of the Saab 340 in the world.

In Brazil, magniX and aeronautical company, DESAER has signed an agreement to develop the ATL-100H, a hybrid electric iteration of the ATL-100 regional aircraft. The ATL-100H is expected to save between 25 - 40 percent of fuel depending on the range of the operation

As well as battery-electric and hybrid-electric aircraft, magniX is also involved in the hydrogen-electric space, with Universal Hydrogen.

Universal Hydrogen is developing a retrofit conversion kit for the De Havilland Canada DHC8-Q300 (which will also be applicable to the ATR 42 family of aircraft) to a hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrain. magniX will be providing the electric propulsion system powering the converted 40-passenger regional aircraft.

Finally, last year magniX was selected as one of two companies to support NASA’s Electric Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) that will rapidly mature Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) technologies through ground and flight demonstrations.

As part of this, magniX received $74.3 million (GE, the other recipient, got $179 million).

REGENT

Based in - Boston, MA Aircraft - Viceroy Seaglider Technology route - Electric Website - https://www.regentcraft.com/

CEO - Billy Thalheimer founded REGENT after years spent as an aerospace program manager, business development leader, and multidisciplinary aerospace engineer. During his time at Aurora Flight Sciences, Billy was responsible for developing new programs in vehicle design and technology maturation to support Aurora’s portfolio of future air mobility solutions.

Co-Founder and CTO Mike Klinker spent years at Airware, Raptor Maps, MIT Lincoln Labs, and Aurora Flight Sciences designing and operating innovative unmanned vehicles and developing systems to increase safety in aviation.

REGENT (Regional Electric Ground Effect Nautical Transport) seeks to offer “Coastal Travel. 100% electric.” It wants to do that through the deployment of a next generation seaplane, or “float, foil, fly” sea glider.

It’s not quite an aircraft, but not quite a boat either, and it could take business away both from regional air-routes as well as ferry services.

With eight engines, it will have top speeds of 180km and glide just above the surface of the water.

The initial model, the Viceroy, will take just 12 passengers, and is meant to be in service in three years.

However, there are plans for a much larger seaglider called the ‘Monarch’, with the aim being that this enters service by the end of the decade.

(Image via REGENT)

With a 180 nautical mile range, the Viceroy will be applicable to coastal, island or Great Lake services.

There are plenty of those to make REGENT a more than viable business, as 40% of the world’s population lives in coastal communities. and investors Thiel Capital, Mark Cuban (Shark Tank, Dallas Maverick) and Fitbit founder James Park obviously think so as well.

For example, it could run on major urban routes like Chicago - Milwaukee, BarcelonaValencia, Boston- NYC, or Seattle-Vancouver, just to name a few.

Because the Viceroy won’t go very far above the water, it doesn’t have to go through aviation authority regulators, instead maritime rules apply and French classification authority Bureau Veritas has given it initial in-principle approval.

Hawaiian Airlines has come on board as a strategic investor in REGENT, with an eye on developing the 100 seat Monarch, which Hawaiian can then use on island routes.

Another investor and early customer is Mesa, which wants to buy 200 seagliders for fast coastal city to city connections.

Overall, REGENT says it has a huge $7 billion in pre-orders.

Finally, with REGENT’s seagliders competing with both shipping and air routes, Brittany Ferries is on board, with an eye to using them on cross (English) channel routes.

UNIVERSAL HYDROGEN

Based in Los Angeles, California Aircraft - Retrofitting existing aircraft Technology - Hydrogen Electric Website - https://hydrogen.aero/

CEO - Prior to co-founding Universal Hydrogen, CEO Paul Eremenko was SVP & CTO at United Technologies Corp., where he led the 30,000-strong engineering function, as well as research, technology, and innovation activities across the company. Before UTC, Paul was CTO at Airbus, where among other things he spearheaded flight demonstrators for hybrid-electric propulsion. Paul Eremenko is also on the board of Eve, which is on our UAM power-list

Co-founder John-Paul Clarke is a Professor at UT Austin, Georgia Tech and MIT. a Co-founder of multiple technology startups and a former senior executive at United Technologies.

John-Paul Clarke appeared on season one of Sustainability in the Air with Shashank Nigam, listen to it here

Like ZeroAvia, who we also feature in this report, Universal Hydrogen is banking on hydrogen electric or hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Then in the future, for larger aircraft, Universal Hydrogen implies that hydrogen combustion as opposed to hydrogen electric will be the way forward.

Universal’s hydrogen technology uses electric motors and fuel cells. Hydrogen and Oxygen react in the fuel cell to produce electricity and water. This electricity powers the motor.

(Image via Universal Hydrogen)

Universal Hydrogen Conversion kits

Like ZeroAvia, Universal Hydrogen is also going down the road of converting existing aircraft, rather than making new ones.

Universal Hydrogen’s first product is a conversion kit for existing regional aircraft, starting with the ATR72 and the De Havilland Canada Dash-8.

This consists of a fuel cell electric powertrain that replaces the existing turboprop engines. It also accommodates, in the rear of the fuselage, hydrogen capsules that are transported from green hydrogen production sites to the airport and loaded directly into the aircraft using the existing intermodal freight network and cargo handling equipment.

As mentioned previously, Universal Hydrogen is working with maginX on the electric motor.

Orders so far include a firm commitment from Avmax Aircraft Leasing Inc. to convert 20 regional aircraft to run on green hydrogen.

Within this order, Avmax has the flexibility to select between Universal Hydrogen’s ATR

72-600 and Dash 8-300 conversion kits.

Connect Airlines, a division of Waltzing Matilda Aviation has placed a firm order to convert 75 ATR 72-600 regional aeroplanes to hydrogen powertrains, with purchase rights for an additional 25 conversions. Deliveries will start in 2025.

This forms part of Connect’s strategy to be the world’s first zero emissions airline.

Earlier this year, French airline Amelia announced a LOI for three ATR 72600 hydrogen conversion kits. This announcement follows Amelia’s November 2021 launch of ‘Amelia Green,’ an internal pledge from the airline to actively find sustainable options to decrease its carbon output.

Universal Hydrogen is working with Deutsche Aircraft on a conversion of the Dornier 228. And the company also has letters of intent for conversions from Icelandair, Air Nostrum and Ravn Alaska

Investors in Universal Hydrogen include Playground Global, Fortescue Future Industries, Coatue, Global Founders Capital, Plug Power, Airbus Ventures, JetBlue Technology Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures, Sojitz Corporation, and Future Shape

(Image via Universal Hydrogen)

Based in Hollister, California and Kemble, UK Aircraft - Retrofitting existing aircraft Technology - Hydrogen Electric Website - https://www.zeroavia.com/

CEO - Prior to founding ZeroAvia, CEO and founder Val Miftakhov was Founder & CEO of eMotorWerks, developing SmartGrid-integrated EV Charging technologies. He also worked at Google as Head of R&D, Google for Work Incubation, responsible for identifying & prototyping top candidates for new Google products targeted at Businesses, Education, and Governments.

Listen to Val Miftakhov’s interview with Shashank Nigam as part of the Sustainability in the Air podcast, out in October 2022.

ZeroAvia is developing “a zero emission powertrain for aviation”, with Val Miftakhov betting on being hydrogen-electric (or hydrogen fuel-cell) technology.

The reason is explained in the above chart that he shows in his presentations and sits on the ZeroAvia website.

(Image via ZeroAvia)

He believes it is zero emissions, with low NOx emissions and is scalable.

As we said earlier, hydrogen solutions do however pose more of an infrastructure problem.

Val Miftakhov believes that this can be overcome and is working on an infrastructure solution, where hydrogen is actually made on site (at each airport), as opposed to having to be transported in.

He also points out that an advantage of hydrogen-electric over electric or hybridelectric, is that especially if an aircraft has a fairly heavy rotation, then the battery will soon need to be replaced.

ZeroAvia says it is already well advanced in plans to certify its ZA600, 600kW powertrain for smaller, 10-20 seat aircraft, with entry into service planned for 2024. The current retrofit for tests is a 19 seat Dornier 228.

Concurrently, the company is working on ZA2000, a 2-5MW modular powertrain

which targets support for 40-80 seat turboprops by 2026.

The ZA2000RJ powertrain will expand this technology to enable passengers to fly in zero-emission regional jets as early as the late 2020s.

Airlines on board as investors

ZeroAvia has an impressive list of backers. In August, American Airlines announced an investment, with the opportunity to buy 100 ZeroAvia engines.

American joins other major airlines as investors.

For example, United Airlines came on board in December. United expects to buy up to 100 of the company’s ZA2000RJ engines.

United says the engine could be retrofitted to existing United Express aircraft as early as 2028.

(Image via ZeroAvia)

IAG and Alaska Airlines have similarly invested in ZeroAvia.

Saudi Arabia’s new NEOM development has put money in the business, while the Red Sea Development Corporation is looking to use ZeroAvia engines on zero emissions tourist flights.

Meanwhile, ZeroAvia has agreements to either develop an airport hydrogen infrastructure, or sell ZeroAvia engines with Edmonton International Airport, Ravn Alaska and Monte Aircraft Leasing.

Retrofitting and line-fitting aircraft

ZeroAvia’s model involves working directly with aircraft manufacturers, in modifying existing aircraft. Like magniX it could be seen as a GE or Rolls Royce of zero emissions aviation.

Additionally, as Val Miftakhov said to Shashank Nigam as part of his Sustainability in the Air podcast interview, the company is line fitting as well as retrofitting planes.

With its partnership with manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, it will be possible to buy a new aircraft powered by ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric technology,

with an eye on CRJ regional jets.

ZeroAvia says that over 2,000 CRJ Series aircraft have been built since the launch of the program, effectively establishing itself as the backbone of regional aviation in the United States.

As mentioned, United has a particular interest in converting the regional jets in use by United Express.

The company is also working with De Havilland Canada on the Dash 8-400 offering ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engine as a line-fit option for new aircraft, as well as developing an OEM-approved retrofit program for in-service aircraft.

Finally, like magniX, ZeroAvia is looking for its powertrains to be inside completely new next generation aircraft. This includes Otto Aviation, where ZeroAvia will develop hydrogen-electric powertrains for the company’s Celera aircraft.

As well as NEOM, American, Alaska Airlines, IAG and United, ZeroAvia’s investors include Barclays Bank and AENU.

With its test and production facilities based in the UK, ZeroAvia additionally benefits from UK Government grants.

OTHER PROJECTS / AIRCRAFT COMPANIES TO WATCH

Note, to read about eVTOL aircraft, see our UAM powerlist.

Airbus

Airbus has in the past supported electric flight projects, but with Project Blue Condor, now seems to be shifting its focus to hydrogen combustion, working towards a hydrogen powered narrowbody aircraft.

ATR

ATR is working on the next generation of its best-selling family of regional aircraft by 2030, the ATR ‘EVO’. The plan foresees a new powerplant with hybrid capability, with the fuel part being delivered by 100% SAF.

Dovetail Electric Aviation

Australia’s Dovetail Electric Aviation wants to take existing turboprop aircraft, and change the propulsion system by integrating an electric motor, battery packs and hydrogen fuel cells into one ‘drive-train’ on an existing airframeDovetail is magniX’s distributor in a number of countries.

One of Dovetail’s owners is Dante Aeronautical, which is looking to develop its own zero emissions aircraft.

Dovetail has an agreement with Rex in Australia to retrofit its regional turboprop fleet, the airline is one of the biggest operators of the Saab 340.

Electron

Electron is working on a four seat air taxi, which initially will be offering flights out of Groningen in the Netherlands.

Embraer

Embraer has been looking at electric and hybrid-electric technology for a possible new aircraft called the Energia. A nine seater hybrid-electric version might be possible by 2030 and a 19 seat hydrogen fuel-cell aircraft by 2035.

Explorer Aircraft

Another magniX partner, Explorer is developing the Explorer series of aircraft, including the 16 seat Model 750T.

(Image via Otto Aviation)

Mako Aerospace

Scottish startup Mako Aerospace wants to produce the world’s first all electric jet engine, disproving that battery electric technology can only be used for short distances.

Quoted in the Scotsman Newspaper, Cranfield’s Dr Guy Gratton said that what Mako Aerospace is developing could probably better be understood as a deducted fan, as shown by Airbus with its E-Fan prototype.

Monte

Monte is a UK based company looking at retrofitting existing regional aircraft.

Otto

The Otto Celera is a six seat hydrogen electric aircraft, with the powertrain supplied by ZeroAvia. Otto is targeting the private aviation market.

Pipistrel

Slovenian aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel is in many ways an electric aircraft pioneer. Over the Summer, Icelandair announced the first passenger flight on an electric aircraft, using a Pipistrel Vellis Electrohowever this is a two seater. And Pipistrel’s development cycle does seem to be fixed on very small 2-4 seat aircraft, smaller than the scope of this report.

Rolls Royce

In January, engine manufacturer Rolls Royce flew a single seat electric aircraft called “The Spirit of Innovation” for 15 minutes and broke two electric aircraft speed records.

Rolls Royce is also working with Tecnam to develop a nine seat electric aircraft for Wideroe called the P-Volt.

Stralis

Stralis is an Australian company looking at hydrogen-electric aircraft. It first of all wants to retrofit existing turbine aircraft before making its own.

VoltAero

VoltAero is a French company developing the hybrid-electric “Cassio” series of aircraft, including eventually the 10-12 seat Cassio 600.

Wright Electric

Wright Electric says it wants to “eliminate carbon from all flights under 800 miles” by 2040 through the production of the 100 seat Wright Spirit. Wright’s major partner is easyJet

Zunum

Based in Washington State, Zunum wants to develop hybrid electric aircraft with a radius of around 700 miles.

Image via Rolls Royce

THE SUSTAINABILITY IN THE AIR PODCAST

Over the Spring and Summer, Sustainability in the Air, established itself as the must-listen podcast in sustainable aviation.

Hosted by SimpliFlying CEO and Founder Shashank Nigam, the first season featured interviews with four airline CEOs including United’s Scott Kirby and Tony Douglas of Etihad.

Season two is about to kick off and includes some of the leaders featured in this report including Heart Aviation’s Anders Forslund and ZeroAvia’s Val Miftakhov.

Click here to listen to the interviews and for the relevant links so you can subscribe on your favourite podcast app