Hydrogen-electric flight development company ZeroAvia has announced that it has now reached a total of $150-million in its Series C financing round. This total was reached following a £20-million investment by the Scottish National Investment Bank.

(Other recent investors in ZeroAvia were American Airlines, the Anglo-Spanish International Airlines Group, and Japan’s ITOCHU Corporation. The Series C round was co-led by Airbus, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital, and Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Investment Fund. The UK Infrastructure Bank joined as a “cornerstone-level investor”. Existing shareholders, such as Alaska Airlines, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, AP Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Horizons Ventures, and Summa Equity, strongly supported the round.)

“Decarbonising aviation is one of the key environmental challenges we face, and it is fundamental to the net-zero transition,” explained Scottish National Investment Bank investment director Robin Tayal. “We are pleased to address it by investing in ZeroAvia, enabling critical research and manufacturing. We are particularly encouraged by the potential of its technology to provide sustainable connectivity in the Highlands and Islands.”

“We have closed an exceptionally strong financing round to help us deliver the clean future of flight for the entirety of aviation,” affirmed ZeroAvia founder and CEO Val Miftakhov. “As a purpose-driven impact investor, the [Scottish National Investment] Bank is an ideal partner for ZeroAvia. Scotland’s ambitious net-zero targets, its strategic focus on hydrogen and its strong existing aerospace skills base make it an attractive place for ZeroAvia’s UK production operations as we scale into a major aerospace manufacturer.”

ZeroAvia is focused on developing aviation powertrains that use hydrogen fuel cells to power electric motors, which then drive the aircraft’s propellors. The prototype of the company’s ZA600 powertrain has been extensively flight-tested, in the UK, on a modified Dornier Do 228 commuter airliner. The ZA600 is currently undergoing the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s certification process.

Key technologies for the larger and more powerful ZA2000 powertrain have undergone advanced ground testing in both the UK and the US. These technologies included cryogenic liquid hydrogen tanks, a proprietary proton-exchange membrane fuel cell and electric propulsion systems. The ZA2000 would power turboprop regional airliners such as the ATR72 and the Dash 8-400.

ZeroAvia was also selling its component technologies to other innovatory electric aviation companies. These technologies included fuel cell power generation systems and electric motors.