ZeroAvia has completed a further round of financing, led by Barclays Climate Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Horizons Ventures, Summa Equity and AP Ventures, with participation from the National Wealth Fund and the Scottish National Investment Bank.

With additional investment secured, ZeroAvia has extended its cash runway for the next two years and will continue to fully industrialise its hydrogen power and propulsion technology for the aviation and defence markets.

The company is already supplying its SuperStack Flex modular fuel cell power generation system to the defence sector, and there is increasing interest in the systems for unmanned aerial vehicles. The dual-use potential is strong: ZeroAvia is also in active customer discussions with eVTOL and fixed-wing commercial players in relation to deploying the compact, lightweight, flexible systems.

The SuperStack Flex can enable both electric propulsion and enhanced onboard electrical power generation with greater power density than battery systems. It unlocks all of the benefits of electrical operation, namely lower thermal and noise signatures, reduced maintenance costs, enhanced reliability and zero-emissions, and with significantly enhanced endurance. With Design Organisation Approval granted by the UK CAA in November, ZeroAvia is well positioned to deliver the first fuel cell systems for aviation with regulatory approvals.

As well as being a standalone power generation system with a wide variety of defence and civil applications, the SuperStack Flex is a core module of ZeroAvia's first planned full hydrogen-electric powertrain, ZA600, designed for 10-20 seat commercial aircraft. With a prototype extensively flight tested, hundreds of engine orders in place with airline customers, including a launch customer, and funding in place to support the entry-in-service of 15 aircraft in Norway, ZeroAvia's focus is now on pushing towards its first certification to support these opportunities.

Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO, ZeroAvia, says: “The support shown in this investment to power the next phase for the company is a great vote of confidence in the company's technology and roadmap. With this latest financing we are able to progress at pace on the most immediate market opportunities, such as the SuperStack Flex, which will enable us to de-risk later stages of our roadmap.”