ZeroAvia completes $150M Series C financing, including investments from Airbus and AA

Hydrogen-electric plane developer ZeroAvia has completed another successful financing round, led by some of its previous investors and some new ones. The sustainable aviation specialist plans to use the fresh funds to expedite the certification of its first powertrain and support selling its in-house components to other electrified aviation OEMs.

ZeroAvia has tasked itself with delivering 40—to 80-seat aircraft with up to 700 miles of range by 2027. So far, its sustainable technology has amassed some heavy hitters’ interest (and funding) in the segment to help push development forward.

In 2022, ZeroAvia secured over $30 million in funding, including investments from American Airlines, which joined Alaska Airlines and United in the hydrogen-electric plane venture.

2023 included several new partnerships and a fresh round of funding led by Airbus, Barclays, and Saudi Arabia’s “living laboratory,” NEOM. In late November, ZeroAvia announced a deal to provide up to 70 zero-emission planes to sustainable startup airline EcoJet, which looks to become the world’s first all-electric airline.

This past July, American Airlines committed to a large purchase of zero-emissions engines alongside a fresh investment in the aviation startup’s technology as part of a Series C fundraising round. Today, ZeroAvia announced it has extended upon that Series C round, which has now been completed for a total of $150 million.

ZeroAvia adds more names to its investment rolodex

The sustainable aviation company shared details of its extended financing round today. This included a 20 million euro £20m (23.7M euros) investment from the Scottish National Investment Bank, aka “The Bank,” which joins other investors like American Airlines, International Airlines Group (IAG), and ITOCHU Corporation. 

ZeroAvia shared that the round was co-led by Airbus, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, and the NEOM Investment Fund (NIF). UK Infrastructure Bank joined as a cornerstone-level investor, and existing shareholders like  Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Summa Equity, Alaska Airlines, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, and AP Ventures also participated.

The funding will enable the aviation startup to accelerate its progress toward certifying its first hydrogen-electric plane powertrain for commercial operations. Per ZeroAvia founder and CEO, Val Miftakhov:

We have closed an exceptionally strong financing round to help us deliver the clean future of flight for the entirety of aviation. As a purpose–driven impact investor, the Bank is an ideal partner for ZeroAvia. Scotland’s ambitious net zero targets, its strategic focus on hydrogen and its strong existing aerospace skills base make it an attractive place for ZeroAvia’s UK production operations as we scale into a major aerospace manufacturer.

In addition to locking in flight certification, ZeroAvia says the $150M in funding will help it begin sales of its in-house aviation technology, including electric motors and fuel cell power generation systems, to other companies.

ZeroAvia has already flight-tested a prototype of its first ZA600 engine, implemented aboard a Dornier 228 aircraft at its UK base, and its application for certification with the CAA is already underway. Additionally, the company has completed advanced ground tests in the US and UK of its ZA2000 system, which can someday help sustainably propel 80-seat regional turboprop aircraft.

That larger and more advanced propulsion system includes cryogenic tanks for LH2 and proprietary high-temperature PEM fuel cell and electric systems.