Mobility/News/ British Airways invests in hydrogen aviation startup ZeroAvia ZeroAvia raises £17.6m to accelerate plans for 50-person hydrogen aircraft By Maija Palmer 31 March 2021 \Mobility Living Map is digitising the world around us By Jay Elwes 5 April 2021 Mobility/News/ British Airways invests in hydrogen aviation startup ZeroAvia ZeroAvia raises £17.6m to accelerate plans for 50-person hydrogen aircraft By Maija Palmer 31 March 2021 By 2024, if you take a short-haul flight the aircraft could well be fuelled by hydrogen rather than jet fuel, as airlines try to minimise their environmental impact. The latest sign that airlines are becoming serious about hydrogen-powered flight came as British Airways invested in ZeroAvia, the UK startup developing hydrogen engines for aircraft. The company raised a £17.6m Series A round to accelerate plans to build engines that could fly a 50-seater aeroplane. The plan is to have an engine ready for commercial launch in 2024. The plan is to have such an engine ready for commercial launch in 2024, said Val Miftakhov, ZeroAvia founder and CEO. ZeroAvia is already developing an engine for a 19-seater aircraft, with plans for a first test flight later this year. But Miftakhov said airlines had approached the company to see if they could build something larger. “We had a lot of interest from them, saying they wanted to engage with us on the 19-seat aircraft, but that most of their fleet was larger,” he told Sifted. “Some of their single-aisle aircraft traffic could migrate to 50 or 70-seater aircraft if it was zero-emission.” “There is a visible move now to sustainability — and we fit right in there.” “Airlines were already interested in sustainability before the pandemic, as there was already starting to be flight-shaming, at least in Europe. But during the pandemic, a number of folks were rethinking their future — there is a visible move now to sustainability — and we fit right in there.” Although some smaller aircraft, such as flying taxi services from Volocopter and Lilium, are planning to use electric batteries, these would not have the power density to lift larger planes. Hydrogen, which can provide 17,000-megawatt-hours per kilogram of fuel, is better suited to getting heavier aircraft off the ground. And while plans for hydrogen-fuelled cars haven’t taken off because of the complexities of creating a refuelling network, that would be less of a problem at airports, as relatively fewer hydrogen fuelling stations would be needed. We’re planning the launch of a newsletter focused on deeptech. Want to get involved? Sign up here to help us beta test the idea. Last autumn Airbus also unveiled three concept aircraft powered by hydrogen, saying these could be ready to enter commercial service by 2035. Light aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel is also developing hydrogen-powered planes, and Universal Hydrogen, a Los Angeles-based startup founded by former Airbus CTO Paul Eremenko, is developing a powertrain and a fuel distribution system that could be retrofitted into existing aircraft. Miftakhov said the entry of companies like Airbus into the sector was helping bring a sense of legitimacy to the concept of hydrogen aviation. The below video shows ZeroAvia’s test of an engine for a 6-seater aircraft, its most advanced project to date. Want the best of Sifted in your inbox? Our newsletter brings you the latest, greatest stories on startup Europe. Sign up Terms of Use Related Articles Clubhouse has revealed the German tech scene’s lack of diversity By Miriam Partington in Berlin Click here to read more A third of UK unicorns founded by ethnic minorities By Kai Nicol-Schwarz Click here to read more Not everyone can become an entrepreneur in Europe By Marie Mawad in Paris Click here to read more Only 21% of tech unicorns are led by women, report shows By Freya Pratty Click here to read more Get the best of Sifted in your inbox By entering your email you agree to Sifted’s Terms of Use Sign up to \Future Proof Sifted’s weekly \Corporate Innovation roundup email By entering your email you agree to Sifted’s Terms of Use Most Read 1 \Deeptech Europe is making faster cars and better batteries than Tesla 2 Member \Startup Life Enter the era of the digital nomad 3 Member \Fintech Index to miss out on Wise IPO bonanza after quietly cashing in stake 4 \Fintech UK fintech Freetrade mints millionaires out of early crowdfunding investors 5 Member \Venture Capital The 28 Italian startups to watch, according to top VCs Join the conversation Subscribe Notify of new follow-up comments new replies to my comments
Clubhouse has revealed the German tech scene’s lack of diversity By Miriam Partington in Berlin Click here to read more