Bank becomes cornerstone investor in latest ZeroAvia funding round

27 November 2023

ZeroAvia has announced that it has completed its latest funding round at a total $116 million with UK Infrastructure Bank joining as a cornerstone-level investor.

The Bank’s £32 million* (USD40 million) equity investment will see it join Airbus, Barclays Sustainable Capital and NEOM as announced in September. The Series C round set to accelerate the company’s journey to certification of its first engines and advance R&D that will scale the clean propulsion technology for larger aircraft.

The financing supports the UK’s status as a market leader in research and development in both aviation and hydrogen and will support ZeroAvia’s ambitious growth plans in the UK.

Aviation is one of the fastest growing sectors, and one of the most challenging to decarbonise, contributing the equivalent of more than 38 million tonnes of CO2 from international and domestic journeys starting and ending in the UK. Around a quarter of UK carbon emissions are predicted to come from aviation in 2050. This funding raise will help support the Government’s target to decarbonise aviation by 2050 by developing new clean propulsion technologies that can be flying between UK airports this decade.

A thriving sustainable hydrogen ecosystem will be crucial for net zero and is an area in which the UK Infrastructure Bank is keen to act as a market leader. The success of hydrogen in aviation can act as a catalyst for the development and rollout of wider hydrogen infrastructure, helping to create a green hydrogen market in the UK and beyond. It also strongly aligns with the Bank’s mandate to support nascent technology and crowd in private investment against its twin objectives of driving regional growth and tackling climate change.

Ian Brown, Head of Banking & Investments at the UK Infrastructure Bank, said:

"This is a great example of the Bank supporting a first of a kind technology that has real potential to have a telling impact on carbon emissions and help position the UK at the forefront of a developing green hydrogen ecosystem.

"Aviation and hydrogen are sectors that need significant private investment to get to net zero. By providing confidence to investors, our equity has helped to crowd in the private investment needed for the continued development of this cutting-edge technology and should help stimulate the development and deployment of hydrogen technology across other hard to decarbonise sectors."

Val Miftakhov, Founder and CEO, ZeroAvia said:

"ZeroAvia has grown rapidly in the UK as we have worked to deliver two major historic milestones in aerospace engineering as we look to preserve the benefits of flight through clean propulsion. This backing by such a preeminent investor as the UK Infrastructure Bank well help us deliver the first commercial zero-emission flights, and help the UK realise substantial export potential. We are looking forward to working with UKIB over the next few years."

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About ZeroAvia

ZeroAvia is a leader in zero-emission aviation, focused on hydrogen-electric aviation as the optimal solution for addressing the industry’s climate impact. Initially targeting a 300-mile range in 9–19 seat aircraft by the end of 2025, and up to 700-mile range in 40–80 seat aircraft by 2027, ZeroAvia has already secured experimental certificates for its three prototype aircraft from the CAA and FAA and passed significant flight test milestones. The company has secured a number of key partnerships with major aircraft OEMs and secured nearly 2,000 pre-orders for engines from a number of the major global airlines, with future revenue potential over $10bn. ZeroAvia is part of the UK Government’s Jet Zero Council. For more, please visit ZeroAvia.com, follow @ZeroAvia on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.