Aciturri, a major European aerostructures and engine components producer, has become the latest investor in Dovetail Electric Aviation, an emerging Australian developer of both battery-electric and hydrogen-electric propulsion systems for regional airliners. Aciturri is a significant supplier to major aerospace companies including Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, Deutsche Aircraft, Safran, Rolls-Royce, Daher and air taxi manufacturer Lilium. As lead investor in Dovetail’s seed investment round, tranche 2, it elevates the Australian company’s international profile and manufacturing capabilities, ahead of the planned first flight early next year of a battery-electric Cessna Caravan seaplane, as it targets 2026 certification. Dovetail also plans to convert a Beechcraft King Air commuter plane to hydrogen-electric propulsion during 2025.

Dovetail, a partnership between Spanish aerospace company Dante and tourist airline Sydney Seaplanes, said Aciturri would become both a key industrial partner and lead investor, but did not disclose the scale or timing of the investment.

Dovetail is seeking $7 million to progress its zero-emission propulsion systems, having already secured investments from companies including Australian airline operator Regional Express (Rex), Spanish carriers Volotea and Air Nostrum, and Australia-based climate solution accelerator EnergyLab in its first round of seed funding. Aciturri is leading the second round of funding, which will close shortly, with Dovetail expecting additional backing from at least one institutional venture capital fund.

“Aciturri’s involvement brings not only financial support but also significant capabilities that will greatly enhance our technology roadmap and accelerate our path to market,” said Dovetail CEO David Doral. “Their track record and expertise in high technology aerostructures and engine parts will add immense value to our operations, helping us bring our innovative solutions to market faster and more efficiently.” 

The testbed Cessna Caravan due to fly electrically next year will be from the fleet of partner company Sydney Seaplanes, while the King Air for hydrogen-electric trials will come from the fleet of Rex sibling Pel-Air. Based on this trial, Rex also plans to retrofit a hydrogen-electric powertrain into one of the 52 Saab 340 commuter planes it operates on regional routes throughout Australia.

Rex operates the world’s largest fleet of the type, for which there is currently no equivalent-size replacement, and has signalled that, once certified, the hydrogen-electric powertrain could be retrofitted onto more of its Saabs.

Aciturri operates two business streams from multiple facilities in Spain, Portugal, France, Morocco and Brazil, employing 2,900 people in the design, manufacture and assembly of key aerostructures including wings, fuselages, empennage and fairings, and the production of engine components including primary structures, casings and rings, and high precision machining.   

“This partnership represents a significant opportunity to drive innovation in the aviation industry and broaden our contribution to a more sustainable future,” said Alvaro Fernandez Baragaño, CEO of Aciturri Aeroengines and the group’s chief diversification officer.

Dovetail has already secured orders and options valued at more than $160 million for its zero emission conversion kits from customers including UK-based MONTE Aircraft Leasing, which specialises in fleets to serve sub-regional markets and focused on financing and leasing solutions for zero and low emissions technology. It has announced its intention to buy up to 50 powertrains from Dovetail, a mix of battery-electric models to power new or retrofitted Cessna Caravans and hydrogen-electric conversion kits for Beechcraft King Air models.

MONTE will become the preferred financing provider for aircraft converted to Dovetail’s propulsion systems.

In a separate Australian partnership, MONTE has partnered with UK-based Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAes) and Cairns-based operator Torres Strait Air to convert up to 10 Britten-Norman Islander aircraft to hydrogen-electric propulsion for services between Horn Island and 20 short-haul destinations, many of them indigenous communities in the nation’s remote far north.

The airline, which had previously signed a letter of intent to acquire 10 new conventionally-powered Britten-Norman Islander aircraft, will source financing from MONTE to convert the planes zero emission propulsion. The lessor previously committed to acquire 40 conversion kits from CAeS to modify Islander aircraft.

Photo: Sydney Seaplanes Cessna Caravan in Dovetail livery

Tony Harrington

Correspondent

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UK commuter plane manufacturer Britten-Norman and hydrogen propulsion developer Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) have announced their intention to merge their businesses, initially to create a fully-integrated zero-emission aircraft for entry into service by 2026. Britten-Norman makes the iconic Islander aircraft, a popular nine-seat commuter plane, while CAeS is pioneering hydrogen-electric fuel cell technology. The two have signed a Heads of Terms Agreement to merge by mid-year, in response, they say, to increasing demand from airlines and other operators wanting to switch to zero-emission aircraft that are backed by an OEM. Their announcement coincides with the rapid expansion of hydrogen powertrain retrofit programmes by ZeroAvia and Universal Hydrogen, and further progress elsewhere in electric and hybrid-electric aircraft development.

Britten-Norman and CAeS have been working together for more than two years on Project Fresson, through which they have been developing technologies needed to enable a hydrogen propulsion system for Islander aircraft. The project has been supported by funding from the UK government through the UK Aerospace Technology Institute, as well as more than £14 million ($17.5m) in private investment funds.

“By combining CAeS’s pioneering development of a hydrogen-electric fuel cell propulsion system with the existing and proven Britten-Norman aircraft technology, a clear and unambiguous route to market has been created with certification for passenger-carrying service planned for 2026,” said the companies on the planned merger.

The new, yet-to-be-named company will bring together investors from both businesses to progress the new integrated aircraft programme, which they intend to evolve from the initial commuter plane to an all-new zero-emission 100-seat aircraft.   

Once the merger is finalised, three CAeS investors, HydrogenOne Capital Growth, Safran Corporate Ventures and UAE-based investment company Strategic Development Fund will invest up to £10 million in the new business. Up to half will come from HydrogenOne, which is leading this funding round. As well, CAeS backers Cranfield University and US-based technology investor Motus Ventures will have shares in the new entity. They will be joined by Britten-Norman’s owners, including lead investor Alawi Zawawi. Further funding is also being raised to support the new company’s growth.

Cranfield Aerospace CEO Paul Hutton said the merger would accelerate his company’s plans to introduce an all-new zero emissions aircraft. “As other sectors decarbonise quickly, it is imperative that the aviation industry accelerates its own transition to new, clean aircraft,” he said. “Looking to the future, we will use the combined experience of Cranfield Aerospace and Britten-Norman to produce an entirely new aircraft design, optimised around hydrogen fuel cell technology.”

Britten-Norman specialises in twin-engine piston and turboprop short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft, and has exported 97% of the 1,300 aircraft it has manufactured. “The merging of Britten-Norman and Cranfield Aerospace Solutions will create a new market leader in green aircraft manufacturing, bringing together joint strengths in aerospace manufacturing, certification and innovation,” said Britten-Norman’s CEO, William Hynett.

The companies said their merger would also produce the first OEM sub-regional aircraft powered by hydrogen, providing significant employment in low-or-zero emission aircraft manufacturing in the UK and boosting the country’s aerospace exports. The combined entity will incorporate seven sites in London, Cranfield, Gosport, Isle of Wight and Southampton in the UK and in Malta and Miami, with around 220 people employed.

The Britten-Norman merger with CAeS coincides with accelerated testing of two retrofit hydrogen powertrain systems for larger turboprop aircraft, one by joint US-UK company ZeroAvia, the other involving US-based Universal Hydrogen. ZeroAvia is currently testing a hydrogen powertrain prototype on a 19-seat Dornier 228 testbed aircraft and has just take delivery of a Q400 aircraft decommissioned by Alaska Airlines, to be converted to a testbed for a hydrogen propulsion system to power 40-80 seat planes (see article). Universal Hydrogen has also started test flights of a Q300 aircraft, retrofitted with portable hydrogen capsules. Universal’s system enables the transfer of containerised hydrogen pods directly to the aircraft they will power, without the need for separate airport infrastructure.

The shift towards all-electric or hybrid-electric commuter planes is gathering pace, with UK-based lessor Monte Aircraft Leasing the latest customer for the nine-seat Eviation Alice, signing a letter of intent to acquire up to 30 of the twin-engined, all-electric aircraft, which offers a 250 nautical mile (463 kilometre) range and a maximum speed of 480 kph. Monte is a specialist provider of low-or-no emission regional aircraft and supporting infrastructure. The order is the second this year for Eviation, which recently secured another 30-plane deal from Mexican regional operator Aerus.

Another US-based start-up, Odys Aviation, has just secured funding from Abu Dhabi-based aviation advisory group Knighthood Global, whose Chairman, former Etihad CEO James Hogan, and one of Knighthood’s partners, former KLM CEO Camiel Eurlings, will also serve on the Odys advisory board. They join the US Air Force as an investor in this Californian company, which is also competing in the nine-seat commuter aircraft market, but with a high-speed, long-range, hybrid-electric vertical take-off or landing (VTOL) plane. Although it has similar capacity to the Eviation Alice and the hydrogen-electric Britten-Norman Islander, the Odys craft will have vertical take-off and landing capacity, using flap-based thrust vectoring rather than swivelling engines to achieve lift, and enabling it to use airports, heliports or vertiports.

Its hybrid-electric powertrain will also enable it fly up to 320 kilometres on electric power, or just over 1,200 kilometres using a mix of electric and conventional gas turbines, which can be powered by sustainable aviation fuel. It is also designed to fly at up to 30,000 feet and speeds of up to 555 kph, powered by 16 propeller motors attached to a box-wing.

“Our plans are revolutionary, bridging the gap between existing technology and fully electric aviation,” said James Dorris, co-founder and CEO of Odys Aviation. “By collaborating with Knighthood, we will expand our depth of industry experience and market reach to travellers, operators and investors around the world.”

Knighthood Chairman James Hogan said his company’s investment provided an exciting opportunity to participate in development of more sustainable air travel. “Air taxis miss the mark,” he said. “Odys is developing sustainable VTOL aircraft to cut the travel time in half on busy travel corridors and create a new era of aviation untethered from runways and large airports.”

South Korean Advanced Air Mobility service provider MintAir recently signed a letter of intent to acquire 30 of the aircraft.

Image: Britten-Norman/CAeS

MONTE Aircraft Leasing, a UK-based lessor specialising in zero-emission regional fleets, has announced two new deals which could deliver up to 90 hybrid-electric or hydrogen-electric commuter planes for use by short-haul operators seeking to decarbonise. Through a partnership with US company Ampaire, MONTE will acquire up to 50 Eco Caravans, hybrid-electric upgrades of the Cessna Grand Caravan, which operates as both a passenger plane and a parcel freighter. The lessor has also signed a letter of intent with the UK’s Cranfield Aerospace Solutions to buy 40 modification kits to convert Britten-Norman Islander aircraft from fossil-fuelled piston engines to hydrogen-electric propulsion systems. The Ampaire and Cranfield announcements coincided with the maiden flight of Ampaire’s Eco Caravan prototype. They also extend MONTE’s growing portfolio of suppliers in the zero-emission aerospace sector and agreements with multiple operators to investigate green fleet or propulsion options for short-range flights.

The Ampaire agreement consists of 25 firm orders for Eco Caravans and options to acquire another 25, and is underpinned by a mutual preferred partner agreement, through which Ampaire will provide Eco Caravans to MONTE, and the lessor will become Ampaire’s financing partner for the type.

Compared to the conventionally-powered Cessna Grand Caravan, Ampaire says the Eco Caravan can cut fuel and emissions by up to 70% on shorter journeys and 50% on longer trips, and is “effectively carbon neutral” when also flown with sustainable aviation fuel. The Eco Caravan is also designed to deliver greater range without compromising payload and can recharge its batteries in flight, enabling it to serve any airport to which Caravans now fly, irrespective of ground charging infrastructure.

“MONTE is looking to build a fleet of low-emission and zero-emission aircraft to lease or finance for regional aircraft operators worldwide,” said Timothy Eyre, the company’s Investment Director.  “Ampaire has emerged as the leading hybrid-electric technology provider and its Eco Caravan will be very attractive for a segment of our operators. We are excited to have signed another key technology partnership and are looking forward to working with the Ampaire team to finance the Eco Caravan.”

The lessor has recently signed agreements to explore zero emission options and financing for customers including Cessna Caravan operators such as Costa Rica Green Airways.

Ampaire’s testbed Eco Caravan has just completed its first flight, powered by a fully-integrated hybrid-electric propulsion system. The nine-seat aircraft departed Camarillo Airport, north of Los Angeles, climbed at full power to 3,500 feet, and flew for 33 minutes using a combination of power from its combustion and electric engines.  

“The Eco Caravan is our starting point for a revolution in air travel,” said Ampaire CEO Kevin Noertker. “It brings cost per available seat mile down to the range of driving, benefiting operators and their passengers. It dramatically shrinks the aircraft’s carbon footprint. The propulsion technology is scalable and we intend to quickly move toward larger regional aircraft and even the single-aisle jet market over time.”

This month, MONTE signed an agreement with Indian regional flybig to provide financing and leasing solutions for the conversion of the airline’s fleet of DHC-6-400 and ATR aircraft to zero emission propulsion technologies. The lessor will also lease two DHC-6-400 aircraft to flybig. Announcing the airline’s #GoGreen initiative, Managing Director Sanjay Mandavia said: “This initiative will not only revolutionise air travel in India, but also reduce the cost of flying with flybig.”

MONTE has also signed a letter of intent with Cranfield Aerospace Solutions to buy 40 modification kits to retrofit twin-engine Britten-Norman Islander (BN2) aircraft to hydrogen-electric propulsion systems.

Through its ‘Project Fresson’ initiative, Cranfield is converting a nine-seat BN2 from fossil fuel to gaseous hydrogen, using a fuel cell and electric motor. The company’s initial aim is to achieve certification of the type for passenger service by 2026, and to offer the aircraft as a zero-emission option for short haul flights, with longer term plans to develop new-build 19-seat and 75-seat aircraft. 

MONTE will become Cranfield’s recommended financing partner for the converted BN2 aircraft, while Cranfield will become MONTE’s exclusive provider of the planes.

“We are excited to announce our partnership with Cranfield Aerospace Solutions which allows us to offer converted electric-hydrogen Britten-Norman Islander aircraft to regional turboprop operators,” said MONTE’s Eyre. “This partnership represents another important milestone on our journey to becoming carbon neutral by 2027.” 

Cranfield’s CEO, Paul Hutton, said: “We are delighted to be able to sign this deal with MONTE Aircraft Leasing, a company that we believe shares the same ambitions and values as us. It’s an extremely exciting time for Cranfield Aerospace Solutions as we continue to gain sales momentum in the market.”

The latest deals extend MONTE’s growing list of partnerships with suppliers including the hydrogen propulsion developer ZeroAvia and electric and hydrogen powertrain company Dovetail Electric Aviation. The lessor has ordered 100 ZA600 powertrains from ZeroAvia to convert conventionally-powered regional aircraft including the Cessna Caravan, Dornier 228 and DHC-6 Twin Otter, and another 50 conversion kits from newly-former Euro-Australian company Dovetail Electric Aviation to convert Cessna Caravans to hybrid-electric propulsion and Beech King Air aircraft to hydrogen-electric power.

Photo: MONTE is to explore the conversion of Costa Rica Green Airways’ fleet of Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft to zero-emission propulsion