ZeroAvia Secures State Funding For R&D Facilities

PARIS–The US state of Washington has pledged further investment to support the expansion of ZeroAvia’s facilities at Paine Field in Everett, Washington.

ZeroAvia aims to develop hydrogen-electric aircraft with an initial target of achieving a 300-mile range in a nine-19 seat aircraft by 2025 and a range of up to 700 miles in 40-80 seat aircraft by 2027.

During a press conference at the Paris Air Show, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee confirmed that $350,000 will be invested by the state. It previously provided a $350,000 economic development grant in early 2022. 

“Our low-carbon fuel standard, abundant clean power and generous new tax incentives for low-carbon fuels provide an unmatched base from which to develop and deploy the next generation of renewable solutions to decarbonize the aerospace sector,” Inslee said.

Alaska Airlines handed over a 76-seat Q400 regional turboprop to ZeroAvia in May that will be retrofitted at Paine Field with a hydrogen-electric propulsion system. The aircraft previously formed part of regional carrier Horizon Air’s fleet.

This latest investment from Washington State’s Economic Development Strategic Reserve Fund will assist improvements at R&D facilities that support both the company’s electric propulsion work and the Dash-8 testbed retrofit program.

Meanwhile, California-based clean energy startup Twelve has also unveiled plans to set up a production facility in Moses Lake, Washington, to scale the production of its E-Jet fuel. Twelve’s sustainable aviation fuel carbon transformation technology uses renewable energy to transform CO2 and water into critical feedstocks conventionally made from fossil fuels. 

“Washington is the perfect location for our facility, with its abundant renewable energy resources to power our carbon transformation process and longstanding global leadership in the aviation industry,” Twelve co-founder and CEO Nicholas Flanders said.