Swedish electric aircraft pioneer Heart Aerospace has ditched its initial 19-seat ES-19 design in favour of an all-new 30-seat version with increased range and capacity. The ES-30 features a reserve-hybrid engine powered by sustainable aviation fuel, to provide extra energy or extended range without relying solely on battery power. Existing ES-19 customers United Airlines and Mesa Air Group have upgraded their 200 orders and 100 options to the larger ES-30, while Air Canada has announced purchase orders for 30 and Swedish aircraft leasing company Rockton has signed letters of intent for another 40. As well, Air Canada and the veteran Swedish aerospace company Saab have become minority shareholders in Heart, each investing $5 million. In the US, e-aircraft company Eviation has secured an LOI from Miami’s Global Crossing Airlines Group for 50 nine-seat Alice electric aircraft, whose prototype is set to make its maiden flight next month. Meanwhile, a study by Distrelec has identified Nordic routes with the highest potential for carbon emission reductions from electric flights.

The Heart ES-30 will feature three-abreast seating, a galley and a lavatory, as well as a large external baggage and cargo compartment, exploiting improved zero-emission propulsion technologies to offer higher payloads and longer-range missions than previously anticipated for the first generation of electric commuter craft. It will offer a fully-electric range of 200 kilometres, an extended range of 400 kilometres with 30 passengers, and the ability to fly as far as 800 kilometres with 25 passengers.

“The ES-30 is an electric airplane that the industry can actually use,” said Anders Forslund, founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace, highlighting the greater utility of the larger variant, which will be assembled in Gothenburg, Sweden. “We have designed a cost-effective airplane that allows airlines to deliver good service on a wide range of routes. With the ES-30 we can start cutting emissions from air travel well before the end of this decade, and the response from the market has been fantastic.”

As well as being a Heart Aerospace customer, United Airlines is also an investor. “From the beginning, Heart and United have been on the same page with an acute focus on safety, reliability and sustainability,” said United CEO Scott Kirby. “Heart’s exciting new design, which includes expanded passenger capacity from 19 to 30 seats, and a state-of-the-art reserve-hybrid engine, is the type of revolutionary thinking that will bring true innovation to aviation.”

Michael Rousseau, CEO of new customer and investor Air Canada, added: “We have been working hard with much success to reduce our footprint, but we know that meeting our net zero emissions goals will require new technology such as the ES-30.”

Saab’s new CEO Micael Johansson said his company’s investment in Heart “underlines our commitment to innovative technology and solutions for sustainable aviation. Heart is a pioneer within commercial electric aviation and we look forward to contributing to the future of aviation with our experience of developing solutions at the forefront of technology.” 

Other investors in Heart Aerospace include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, EQT Ventures, European Investment Council, Lower Carbon Capital, Mesa Air Group and United Airlines Ventures.

In addition to firm orders for the new aircraft and the letter of intent from Rockton, Heart Aerospace said many operators that previously signed LOIs for the ES-19 had now upgraded to the ES-30, among them Braathens Regional Airlines, Icelandair, SAS and New Zealand’s Sounds Air. There are now 96 LOIs for the ES-30, which is expected to enter commercial service in 2028 as a zero-emission replacement for existing fossil-fuelled aircraft or to accommodate regional growth.

Its launch coincides with a soaring and competing trend to retrofit older commuter planes with new electric or hydrogen propulsion systems, for which significant orders have been secured by start-ups including ZeroAvia and Universal Hydrogen, both well-backed by major industry players and venture capital investors.

In another electric aircraft development, Miami-based Global Crossing Airlines Group, trading as GlobalX, has signed a letter of intent to acquire 50 all-electric Alice aircraft from US-based Eviation, for delivery from 2027. The inaugural test flight of the Alice prototype is expected to occur next month.

“We plan to offer the aircraft to our cruise line, tour operators, leisure travel providers and business clients with a need for short-haul charter flights across Florida,” said GlobalX CEO Ed Wegel. “The Alice aircraft will allow us to offer sustainable regional flights to and from major markets and is the first step in our initiative to be a zero-carbon emissions airline by 2050.” As well as flights within Florida, GlobalX says the nine-seat aircraft will open opportunities for new passenger routes in the Bahamas and the Caribbean. The company is also evaluating a cargo version of the aircraft, which has also been ordered by freight giant DHL.

In Europe, the electronics and automation group Distrelec has completed a study of flights operating in Nordic countries to identify which markets have the most potential for electric-powered flights. It identified routes in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Finland, which, if converted to zero emission aircraft, could eliminate a combined total of more than 61,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per month, equivalent to 773 aircraft each with a maximum take-off weight of 79,000 kilograms – roughly equivalent to an Airbus A320neo.

The study found that Norway had the greatest potential to reduce flight carbon emissions, with up to 29,038 tonnes likely to be eliminated each month through deployment of electric aircraft, followed by Sweden with 17,260 tonnes, Finland with 6,264, Denmark with 4,177, Greenland with 2,390, and Iceland with 1,994.

Norway’s Oslo-Trondheim air route was identified by Distrelec as the biggest contributor to aircraft carbon emissions in the surveyed markets, with 709 monthly flights averaging 58 kilograms per passenger, while Finland’s Helsinki-Oulu route, while less flown with an average 264 monthly departures, produced the highest CO2 emissions per passenger, averaging 72 kilograms.

The study also assessed 10 regional international routes originating in Nordic countries, which it estimated produced a collective 17,100.5 tonnes of CO2 per month, or 205,206 annually, the equivalent of 2,597 aircraft with a 79,000-kilogram maximum take-off weight.

Image: Heart Aerospace ES-30 in Air Canada livery

With a conditional order for 100 Heart Aerospace ES-19 airliners, United Airlines has placed another big bet on the future size and shape of its aircraft fleet, with an emphasis on electrically powered airliners and investments in what it has described as “emerging technologies that decarbonise air travel”. The US major announced an agreement to acquire 100 ES-19s, a 19-seater being developed by Sweden’s Heart Aerospace, while its regional partner Mesa Airlines placed its own conditional order for a further 100 units. This is United’s second commitment to electric aircraft, reports Mark Pilling. In February it revealed a deal with air mobility company Archer to help it develop the US start-up’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft designed as an air taxi in urban markets. United and Mesa said they would buy up to 200 of Archer’s electric aircraft if it met the “operating and business requirements” of the carriers. Another start-up, ZeroAvia has also secured extra funding to accelerate its ambitions to develop a hydrogen-electric 50-seater regional aircraft.

Echoing the Archer eVTOL commitment, United and Mesa have “conditionally agreed to purchase 100 ES-19 aircraft [each], once the aircraft meet United’s safety, business and operating requirements”. United Airlines said it has invested an undisclosed sum in start-up Heart Aerospace through its new corporate venture capital fund, United Airlines Ventures (UAV). Also investing is Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), a fund that backs firms with emission reduction strategies in various industries, and Mesa Airlines.

“Breakthrough Energy Ventures is the leading voice of investors who are supporting clean-energy technology creation. We share their view that we have to build companies who have real potential to change how industries operate and, in our case, that means investing in companies like Heart Aerospace who are developing a viable electric airliner,” said Michael Leskinen, United’s VP Corporate Development & Investor Relations, as well as UAV’s President. “We recognise that customers want even more ownership of their own carbon emissions footprint. We are proud to partner with Mesa Air Group to bring electric aircraft to our customers earlier than any other US airline. Mesa’s long-serving CEO, Jonathan Ornstein has shown visionary leadership in the field of electric-powered flight.” Ornstein is an advisor to Heart Aerospace.

UAV and BEV are among the first investors in Heart Aerospace, demonstrating confidence in Heart’s design and creating potential for the company to fast track the ES-19 introduction to market. Heart, which is based in Gothenburg, Sweden, is aiming for the ES-19 to be certified for commercial operations by 2026. The high-wing 19-seater will feature four wing-mounted propellers powered by lithium-ion batteries and will have a range of 400km.

“Electric aircraft are happening now—the technology is already here,” said Anders Forslund, CEO of Heart Aerospace. “I can’t imagine a stronger coalition of partners to advance our mission to electrify short-haul air travel.”

Aviation is a critical piece of the global economy, said Carmichael Roberts, Business Lead, Investment Committee at Breakthrough Energy, which was founded in 2015 by Microsoft’s Bill Gates and a coalition of private investors concerned about the impacts of accelerating climate change. “At the same time, it’s a major source of carbon emissions and one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonise. We believe electric aircraft can be transformational in reducing the emissions of the industry, and enable low-cost, quiet and clean regional travel on a broad scale. Heart’s visionary team is developing an aircraft around its proprietary electric motor technology that will allow airlines to operate at a fraction of the cost of today and has the potential to change the way we fly.”

According to United, the ES-19 could operate on more than 100 of United’s regional routes out of most of its hubs. Some of these routes include Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Purdue University Airport and San Francisco International Airport to Modesto City-County Airport.

“We expect the short-haul regional air travel market to play a key role in the evolution of the electric aircraft.  As battery technology improves, larger-gauge aircraft should become viable but we’re not going to wait to begin the journey,” said Leskinen of United. “That’s why we’re looking forward to beginning our work with Heart, so that together, we can scale the availability of electric airliners and use them for passenger flights within the next five years.”

Over the past several months, United has carried out a series of ambitious moves. In late June the airline made what it said was its largest ever order, and biggest by a single carrier in decade, for 200 Boeing Max 737s and 70 Airbus A321neos. In early June, just weeks before the major announcement to upgrade its short-haul fleet, United said it would buy 15 supersonic 65-88 seat Overture jetliners from Boom Aerospace.

On the sustainability front, in April United announced the formation of its Eco-Skies Alliance programme which “allows corporate customers the opportunity to pay the additional cost for sustainable aviation fuel”. Last December, United announced a multi-million dollar investment in direct air capture (DAC) technology rather than purchasing carbon credits to offset residual emissions. The investment is being made in 1PointFive, a partnership between Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, a subsidiary of Occidental, and Rusheen Capital Management, which is using technology licensed from Carbon Engineering in the first industrial-sized DAC plant in the United States. United is also one of the largest off-takers of sustainable aviation fuel and has invested $30 million in SAF producer Fulcrum BioEnergy, which has just completed construction of its first-of-a-kind Sierra municipal solid waste to jet fuel plant in Nevada

Although it does not have airline commitments yet, another start-up, ZeroAvia, recently announced it had raised additional funding and secured two aircraft for research and development of clean hydrogen-electric aviation. The company will use two twin-engine 19-seat Dornier 228 aircraft – one in the UK and one in the US, acquired from Aurigny and AMC Aviation.

ZeroAvia’s 19-seat aircraft development project is part of HyFlyer II, the second ZeroAvia-led project backed by the UK government to target the development of a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. As part of HyFlyer I, ZeroAvia said it successfully demonstrated a 250kW powerplant in a six-seat aircraft across three flight test campaigns, achieving all the project’s technical goals, including fuel cell-only cruise flight. The learnings of HyFlyer I will be utilised in the development of a 600kW 19-seater powerplant in HyFlyer II.

 ZeroAvia has also secured an additional £9.3 million ($13 million) for its 50+ seat engine development programme from AP Ventures, an investor in breakthrough technologies across the hydrogen value chain, Alumni Ventures Group, SGH Capital, Agartha Fund LP, and existing investors Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Summa Equity, Shell Ventures, SYSTEMIQ and Horizons Ventures. This new funding complements the initial investment of $24 million the company announced earlier this year, bringing the total private investment into ZeroAvia’s large engine development for 50+ seat aircraft to $37 million.

“We are eager and ready to begin testing our hydrogen-electric powertrain technology on a larger commercial-size aircraft, and grateful to our investors and grant funders for their continued support of our vision for sustainable aviation,” said Val Miftakhov, Founder and CEO at ZeroAvia. “Various projections indicate that aviation may account for over 25% of human-induced climate effects by 2050. We are on the path to helping reverse that trend, first with our successful six-seater testing and now with the R&D for our 19-seater, and the kick-off of our 50+ seat programme. Hydrogen is the only practical solution for true climate-neutral flight, and it will become a commercial reality much sooner than many predict.”

Image: Heart Aerospace ES-19 in United Express livery, the regional brand of United Airlines

Mark Pilling

GreenAir Contributing Editor

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