A month after signing a letter of intent with German start-up airline Evia Aero to supply 10 hydrogen fuel cell conversion kits for Britten-Norman Islander aircraft, the UK’s Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) has seen its current investment round increase to £14.4 million with a fresh funding injection by the Tawazun Economic Council of the UAE and California-based Motus Ventures, Cranfield Aerospace said on Friday.
CAeS has worked on its new propulsion system since 2019 and has received UK government funding through Project Fresson. While the company initially planned to produce a hybrid-electric power system, it abandoned that plan last year in favor of using hydrogen fuel cells with wing-mounted fuel tanks instead, as it determined that the hybrid system would not be viable for its performance objectives.
The Tawazun Economic Council participates in the project through its Strategic Development Fund investment arm, which invests in emerging technology companies ranging from aerospace and urban mobility to advanced manufacturing and energy storage. Motus Ventures describes itself as an early-stage venture capital fund and “business accelerator,” investing in groundbreaking start-ups involved in disciplines such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and autonomous vehicles.
“We are very excited to welcome our new investors—Tawazun SDF and Motus Ventures—to join us on our journey in delivering the world’s first fully certified zero-emissions commercial passenger aircraft to the market,” commented Paul Hutton, CAeS’s chief executive. “To continue the work on Project Fresson we need private investment. The onboarding of Tawazun SDF and Motus Ventures shows the confidence and trust they have in our experience and ability to deliver the technology needed to create the future of aviation.”
Now in its sixth decade of production, the Islander aircraft now runs on a pair of either piston or turboprop engines provided by Lycoming or Rolls-Royce, respectively. CAeS will replace the engines with a fuel cell and electronic motors that run on hydrogen gas.
