 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aircraft manufacturing |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Gothenburg, Sweden |
Key people | |
Number of employees | 130 (2022) |
| Website | heartaerospace |
Heart Aerospace is a Swedish aerospace manufacturer based in Gothenburg. It is developing a 30-seat hybrid-electric powered regional airliner.
Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, Heart Aerospace maintains a research and development facility in Los Angeles, California, United States. [1] Founded in 2019 by Anders and Klara Forslund, the company employed approximately 100 individuals as of 2024. [2]
Heart Aerospace is developing the ES-30, a 30-seat hybrid-electric powered regional airliner, designed for enhanced sustainability and efficiency on short-haul routes.
The ES-30 is projected to have an electric-only range of 200 kilometres (120 mi) and a hybrid-electric range of 400 km (250 mi), significantly reducing CO2 emissions compared to conventional aircraft on similar routes. With a reduced passenger load of 25, a range of 800 km (500 mi) may be achievable. [3]
The company aims to achieve type certification for the ES-30 by the end of the 2020s. In 2024, Heart Aerospace unveiled its first full-scale demonstrator aircraft, the Heart X1 (Heart Experimental 1). The X1's maiden flight, powered solely by electricity, is anticipated in the second quarter of 2025. [4]
Following the X1 program, Heart Aerospace plans to construct a pre-production prototype, the Heart X2. The X2 will incorporate design refinements based on the X1's operational experience and will feature the company’s hybrid propulsion system, which is slated for a hybrid-electric flight demonstration in 2026. [3] [4]
| Date | Customer | Orders | Options | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 July 2021 | United Airlines | 100 | 50 | Originally ordered ES-19, later reconfirmed for ES-30 [5] [6] |
| 13 July 2021 | Mesa Airlines | 100 | 50 | Originally ordered ES-19, later reconfirmed for ES-30 [5] [6] |
| 15 September 2022 | Air Canada | 30 | – | [6] |
| 10 May 2023 | Rockton | 20 | 20 | Aircraft leasing company [7] |
| Totals | 250 | 120 | ||
The company also has letters of intent (non-firm orders) for a further 191 airplanes from Braathens Regional Airlines, Icelandair, JSX, Scandinavian Airlines, Sounds Air, and Sevenair Air Services. [8]
Heart Aerospace was established in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2019 by Anders and Klara Forslund. [9]
The company secured $35 million in Series A funding in 2021, led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, United Airlines Ventures, and Mesa Air Group, with participation from existing seed investors EQT Ventures and Lowercarbon Capital. [10]
In September 2022, Air Canada and Saab each invested $5 million in Heart Aerospace. Concurrently, Air Canada placed a purchase order for 30 ES-30 aircraft.
During 2024, Heart Aerospace raised a total of $107 million in Series B funding, increasing its total capital raised to $145 million. New investors included Sagitta Ventures, a Danish early-stage investment firm. Returning investors included Air Canada, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the European Innovation Council Fund, EQT Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Norrsken VC, United Airlines, and Y Combinator. [11] [12]
In May 2024, Heart Aerospace announced the establishment of a new research and development hub in the United States. [13]
Embraer S.A. is a Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation. It develops and manufactures aircraft and aviation systems, and provides leasing, equipment, and technical support services. Embraer is the third largest producer of civil aircraft worldwide after Boeing and Airbus. The company also has a significant presence in military aviation, ranking among the top 100 defense contractors. It is headquartered in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil, with offices and operations in China, the Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, and the United States.
A regional airliner or a feeder liner is a small airliner that is designed to fly up to 100 passengers on short-haul flights, usually feeding larger carriers' airline hubs from small markets. This class of airliners is typically flown by the regional airlines that are either contracted by or subsidiaries of the larger airlines. Regional airliners are used for short trips between smaller towns or from a larger city to a smaller city. Feeder liner, commuter, and local service are all alternative terms for the same class of flight operations.
The British Aerospace 146 is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Avro International Aerospace manufactured an improved version known as the Avro RJ. Production for the Avro RJ version began in 1992. Later on, a further-improved version with new engines, the Avro RJX, was announced in 1997, but only two prototypes and one production aircraft were built before production ceased in 2001. With 387 aircraft produced, the Avro RJ/BAe 146 is the most successful British civil jet airliner program.
Y Combinator, LLC (YC) is an American technology startup accelerator and venture capital firm launched in March 2005 which has been used to launch more than 4,000 companies. The accelerator program started in Boston and Mountain View, expanded to San Francisco in 2019, and was entirely online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies started via Y Combinator include Airbnb, Coinbase, Cruise, DoorDash, Dropbox, Instacart, Reddit, Stripe, and Twitch.
Airware was an American venture-funded startup that provided commercial unmanned aerial vehicles for enterprises. The company ceased operations on September 14, 2018.
An electric aircraft is an aircraft powered by electricity. Electric aircraft are seen as a way to reduce the environmental effects of aviation, providing zero emissions and quieter flights. Electricity may be supplied by a variety of methods, the most common being batteries. Most have electric motors driving propellers or turbines.
As of January 2025, the United Airlines fleet consists of 1,000 mainline aircraft, the largest of any commercial airline worldwide. United Airlines operates a mix of Airbus and Boeing narrow-body and all Boeing wide-body aircraft with more wide-body aircraft than any other U.S. passenger airline. The average age of United's fleet is 15.9 years.
Gigster provides a service that allows users to get tech projects built on demand. It was co-founded by Roger Dickey and Debo Olaosebikan and based in San Francisco, California. They received seed funding from Greylock Partners, Bloomberg Beta, as well as notable angel investors and founders Naval Ravikant of AngelList, Justin Waldron of Zynga, and Emmett Shear of Twitch, among others. They were a part of Y-Combinator's Summer 2015 class.
Boom Technology, Inc. is an American company designing a supersonic airliner named the Overture. The company is also flight-testing their one-third-scale demonstrator: the Boom XB-1 Baby Boom. On January 28, 2025, the company broke the sound barrier for the first time with its new XB-1 aircraft, after taking off from the Mojave Air and Space Port.
Lilium N.V. is a German aerospace company which is the developer of the Lilium Jet, an electrically powered personal air vehicle capable of VTOL flight.
EQT Ventures is the venture capital business of Swedish investment manager EQT AB. In May 2016, EQT Ventures announced its first €566m fund that makes minority equity investments in European and US tech companies ranging between €1 million and €50 million.
Flirtey was a Reno, Nevada-based drone delivery company. The company completed the first Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-approved drone delivery in the United States in 2015, the first FAA-approved urban delivery in March 2016 and the first FAA-approved commercial drone delivery to a customer home in July 2016. Flirtey is also developing air traffic control computer software for drones in a collaboration with NASA. One of the company's drones is in the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
Zunum Aero was an aircraft manufacturer startup based in Kirkland, Washington. Backed by Boeing HorizonX and JetBlue Technology Ventures, the company worked from 2013 to 2018 on a proposed family of hybrid electric regional aircraft of up to 50 seats.
Wright Electric is an American startup company developing an electric airliner.
The Boom Overture is a supersonic airliner under development by Boom Technology, designed to cruise at Mach 1.7 or 975 knots. It will accommodate 64 to 80 passengers, depending on the configuration, and have a range of 4,250 nautical miles. Boom Technology aims to introduce the Overture in 2029. The company projects a market for up to 1,000 supersonic airliners, serving 500 viable routes, with fares comparable to business class. Featuring a delta wing design reminiscent of the Concorde, the Overture will utilize composite materials in its construction. A 2022 redesign specified four dry (non-afterburning) turbofan engines, each producing 160 kilonewtons of thrust.
A hybrid electric aircraft is an aircraft with a hybrid electric powertrain. As the energy density of lithium-ion batteries is much lower than aviation fuel, a hybrid electric powertrain may effectively increase flight range compared to pure electric aircraft. By May 2018, there were over 30 hybrid electric aircraft projects, and short-haul hybrid-electric airliners were envisioned from 2032.
An electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is a variety of VTOL aircraft that uses electric power to hover, take off, and land vertically. This technology came about owing to major advances in electric propulsion and the emerging need for new aerial vehicles for Advanced Air Mobility and Urban Air Mobility that can enable greener and quieter flights. Electric and hybrid propulsion systems (EHPS) have also the potential of lowering the operating costs of aircraft.
ZeroAvia is a British/American hydrogen-electric aircraft developer. The company was founded in 2017 by Valery Miftakhov, who currently serves as the company CEO. ZeroAvia is developing hydrogen-fueled powertrain technology aiming to compete with conventional engines in propeller aircraft, with an aim of zero-emission and lower noise. ZeroAvia expects to sell products by 2023 and demonstrate flights up to 500 miles (800 km) in aircraft of up to 20 seats. According to the company, by 2026, ZeroAvia intends to fly an aircraft over 500 miles range in aircraft with up to 80 seats.
Advanced air mobility (AAM) are systems that incorporate support for next-generation transport such as such as remotely piloted, autonomous, or vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. This includes those powered by electric or hybrid-electric propulsion.
Arc Boat Company (Arc) is an American electric boat company based in Los Angeles, California, specializing in high-performance, all-electric watercraft. Since its founding in 2021, Arc has raised over $100 million in funding from notable investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Eclipse Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and celebrities like Will Smith and Kevin Durant. The company has released two fully electric boats: the Arc One, a luxury cruiser, and the Arc Sport, a wake sport boat.