A San Benito County company that's developing hydrogen-electric aircraft engines pulled in $116 million in new funding this week.
ZeroAvia Inc. announced Monday it closed the Series C financing round, which was led by the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB), among others. The Hollister-based startup said the backing from UKIB will help the company expand its reach.
This round’s funds will help accelerate the path to certify its first set of hydrogen-electric engines for aircraft, the company said in a release. Additionally, it said funding will also go towards research and development of clean propulsion technology for larger aircraft.
"ZeroAvia has grown rapidly in the UK as … we look to preserve the benefits of flight through clean propulsion," Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia, said in the release. "This backing by such a preeminent investor as the UK Infrastructure Bank will help us deliver the first commercial zero-emission flights, and help the UK realize substantial export potential."
Since its founding in 2017, ZeroAvia has been developing electric-hydrogen engines for aircraft. Already the company has begun advertising engines for 9-19 seat aircraft available by 2025 and engines for 40-80 seat aircraft available come 2027.
The company said its technology will eventually lead to lower fuel and maintenance costs.
ZeroAvia did not immediately respond to the Business Journal’s request for comment.
Besides the backing from UKIB, the Series C round was co-led by Airbus SE, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital and NEOM Investment Fund. Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Alaska Airlines, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Summa Equity, AP Ventures and Amazon Climate Pledge Fund also participated in the latest funding round.
According to Ian Brown, head of investment and banking at UKIB, the bank's investment shows its commitment to decarbonizing sectors that are traditionally harder to. Brown said that by investing in ZeroAvia it is helping lay out a groundwork for other investors to make a change in similar sectors.
"Aviation and hydrogen are sectors that need significant private investment to get to net zero," Brown said. "By providing confidence to investors, our equity has helped to crowd in the private investment needed for the continued development of this cutting-edge technology and should help stimulate the development and deployment of hydrogen technology across other hard to decarbonise sectors."
This round brings the company total funding to over $258 million since its founding in 2017, according to PitchBook data. The company was last valued by investors at $562.5 million in September, according to PitchBook.
