Heart Aerospace, a Gothenburg, Sweden-based hybrid-electric airplane maker, raised $107M in Series B funding.
The round, which brought the total amount to $145M, saw participation from new investor Sagitta Ventures. Other investors included Air Canada, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, European Innovation Council Fund, EQT Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Norrsken VC, United Airlines, and Y Combinator.
In addition to announcing new funding, EQT Ventures partner Ted Persson will be joining Heart Aerospace’s Board of Directors.
The company intends to use the funds to further build its business and make progress toward type certification of its first hybrid-electric airplane, the ES-30.
Led by CEO Anders Forslund, Heart Aerospace plans to create a green and accessible form of transport developing ES-30, a regional electric airplane with a standard seating capacity of 30 passengers driven by electric motors with battery derived energy. It will have a fully electric zero emissions range of 200 kilometers, an extended range of 400 kilometers with 30 passengers and flexibility to fly up to 800 kilometers with 25 passengers, all including typical airline reserves.
Heart Aerospace has 250 orders for the ES-30, with options and purchase rights for an additional 120 planes. The company also has letters of intent for a further 191 airplanes.
Commenting on the news, Anders Forslund said: “This investment furthers our mission to decarbonize and democratize air travel. Air travel is globally its infancy. Billions of people around the world are looking to be connected to this amazing infrastructure over the next decade. Meanwhile, the industry has committed to net zero emissions by 2050. The only way forward is to decouple the tremendous growth in aviation from its emissions, and we believe ES-30 is the first stepping stone. Moreover, because of the superior economics of electric aircraft over their fossil-fuel counterparts, the ES-30 will bring back service to communities that have lost connectivity and open many new markets. This upcoming year is an exciting one for Heart Aerospace as we prepare to unveil our full-scale aircraft demonstrator.”
FinSMEs
01/02/2024