Heart Aerospace Series B triples total capital raise
Heart Aerospace has more than tripled its total capital raise with $107m in Series B funding for its hybrid-electric regional passenger aircraft.
The new round brings the total financing raised by Heart to $145m. Whilst the firm would not reveal specific areas of spending to Revolution.Aero, Heart said it will use the funds to make further progress toward type certification of the ES-30. Once certified, the 30-passenger aircraft will operate on short haul routes.
Among new investors is Sagitta Ventures, a Danish investment firm focused on early-stage startups. Other investors include Air Canada, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, EQT Ventures, United Airlines and Y Combinator.
Part of Heart’s vision centres around democratising air travel. “Air travel is globally in 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,” said Anders Forslund, co-founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace.
“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,” he added. The funds also will help Heart towards unveiling its full-scale aircraft demonstrator — it has plans to do so later this year.
Heart Aerospace has also announced EQT Ventures partner Ted Persson will be joining the firm’s board. “As someone said, the stone age didn’t end because we ran out of stones and the fossil fuel age won’t end because we run out of fossil fuels,” said Persson. “Heart is taking decarbonisation to the skies and we’re proud to be funding technology that will fundamentally change the aviation industry. We believe that sustainable industrial and electrification solutions are not just the future; they are the present.”
John Slattery, chairman of Heart’s board said: “Ted brings to Heart Aerospace’s Board a wealth of expertise in product design, user experience, storytelling and branding. We are delighted to have him on our team.”
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. The aircraft is currently the only clean sheet hybrid-electric airplane of its size with an active type certification application with EASA. Focus in the upcoming year will be primarily on the development of Heart Aerospace’s hybrid- electric powertrain.
