Progress in the air and on the ground - the latest sustainable aviation wrap-up
⚡Electric Aviation: flight tests and new products
Norwegian airport operator Avinor is exploring an electric corridor following successful six-month flying trials with BETA Technologies. Next up, Avinor and Bristow Group will trial Electra's ultra-STOL in Norway.
French airport operator Edeis and the French Aeronautical Federation (FFA) have launched an electric aviation tour (in French), taking place this May in Western France.
Swiss firm H55 has delivered certifiable batteries to SmartFlyer, another Swiss startup developing electric and hybrid aircraft.
magniX has debuted a new motor for the light aircraft market.
🚁 eVTOL: progress in the air and on the ground
Encouraging news from Vertical Aerospace: the British eVTOL company has raised $850M and done full transition — going from vertical take-off to horizontal flight and back. Not all of the funding is cash in hand, but it is a significant vote of confidence.
Volocopter appears to be recovering under its new ownership by Diamond Aircraft. The German developer has unveiled the ultralight VoloXPro, a lighter sibling of its VoloCity, to be offered on the retail market — provided it is certified — for just under half a million euros.
Chinese eVTOL company Volant has raised $300M including Abu Dhabi. Quite a lot is happening in the Chinese eVTOL scene — we will be doing a podcast episode about this soon.
Wisk has published a remarkable Gen 6 video showing its eVTOL moving forward and backward in horizontal flight.
Joby flew JFK to Manhattan, showcasing its eVTOL in New York City once more. And in Dubai, first vertiports are taking shape.
And the state of Florida is passing legislation that will facilitate access to government funds for vertiport development.
A thought-provoking piece by Stefan Schamberger argues that AAM's real value is tech transfer to the next generation of conventional airliners, not eVTOLs themselves. Worth a read if you follow this space!
💧 Hydrogen Aviation: hitting some milestones
Rolls-Royce and easyJet have tested 100% hydrogen on Pearl 15 at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. A rare piece of genuinely good news in an aviation hydrogen landscape that has had few of them lately.
A Chinese company has tested liquid hydrogen on a drone — here is what we know so far.
Luxaviation backs Beyond Aero's jet as launch customer for its future hydrogen-powered executive aircraft. There is still a long way to go before that aircraft becomes a reality, though.
🌿 Sustainability & SAF
EASA has admitted gaps on non-CO₂ effects, Christopher Surgenor reports on Green Air News. Sometimes knowing what you don't know is an important first step.
Also on Green Air News: Boeing and Norsk e-Fuel test SAF in operational conditions. Interestingly, the programme has a defence angle — as is increasingly the norm for many aerospace startups.
Cirium has ranked Scoot most emissions-efficient, adjusting for capacity in available seat kilometres (ASK). Wizz Air led the regional ranking for Europe with with 53.1g of CO₂ / ASK
AZEA, the European Alliance for Zero Emissions Aviation, has published its zero-emissions roadmap.
French engine maker Safran is planning geothermal power near Paris for its facilities. An interesting initiative from one of the industry's biggest players.
Innovation in general aviation
Elixir delivered first US aircraft, less than a year after receiving its first order there. To learn more about this French startup that applies sailing technology to make ultra-efficient light aircraft, check out my piece on AeroTime.
Airhart wants to make flying as easy as driving (founder Nikita Ermoshkin was on our podcast) and has completed its first system flight.
Canadian operator Aerova has signed LOI for 20 eViators, an electric aircraft being developed in Germany by MD Aircraft.
💵 Drone funding, autonomy and UAS
Autonomous flight startup Reliable Robotics has raised $160M in new funding. The company is also certifying its C2 Link System for coordinating with other airspace actors.
Drone maker Skydio raised $100M Series F, valuing the company at $4.4 billion.
Toulouse-based Donecle raised €10M for inspection drones, already qualified by both Airbus and Boeing. Quite the niche.
AIR has, reportedly, started flying cargo missions with its drones.
AutoFlight tested tea delivery flights. Yes, seriously!
Bulgarian UAS maker Dronamics has attracted a Japanese investor for Asia and is targeting the Asian market for its MALE cargo drones.
Unconventional Aircraft Concepts
I was not aware of Finland-based Kelluu — until the NATO Innovation Fund put €15M into its Series A. The startup is building hydrogen airships for military observation missions.
REGENT has flown the Squire ekranoplan, a small autonomous wing-in-ground-effect craft designed for defence uses.
Sceye, which develops high-altitude platform systems (HAPS) that operate in the stratosphere far above conventional traffic, has completed 6,400-mile stratospheric flight from New Mexico to the coast of Brazil, after spending 12 days up in the air!
✈️ Airline News
Air New Zealand is finally launching SkyNest economy bunks, bookings open from May.
Ryanair closes Berlin base, citing high costs and repeated charge increases at the airport.
Panama's Copa Airlines will remain firmly in Boeing territory after ordering up to 60 MAXes.
Our list of airlines that stopped operations is back for 2026, updated as of today.
