Vaeridion attracts over €124 million investment in equity and grant funding to scale electric aviation

Vaeridion, an all-electric aircraft manufacturer, has closed a €30 million Series A2 round to build the first conforming prototype of its nine-passenger Microliner. In parallel, Vaeridion's CAROLUS project has been selected by the European Commission for a €94.5 million Innovation Fund grant to support the establishment and ramp-up of a final assembly facility at Oberpfaffenhofen Airport. Together, the announcements support two critical development stages: building the first conforming aircraft and establishing the industrial capability to manufacture the Microliner at scale.

The equity round was led by SHIFT Invest and Invest-NL, with participation from existing investors World Fund, Project A and Vsquared Ventures, alongside PAYBACK founder and deep-tech investor Alexander Rittweger, among others. Including this equity round and earlier public funding, Vaeridion has raised approximately €60 million to date.

The grant comes from the EU Innovation Fund and is in addition to the equity raised. CAROLUS was selected from 358 applications as one of only 12 large-scale projects. It's the only aviation project, and Vaeridion the only German company in this category, to be selected for this grant. The selection remains subject to completion of the grant agreement, expected to be signed in 2027.

Ivor van Dartel, Founder and CEO of Vaeridion, said: "Over the past year, we have turned the Microliner from a validated design into hardware, with exceptional capital efficiency. Our propulsion and battery technology is now being tested at our own facility in Oberpfaffenhofen. This equity round enables us to build our first conforming aircraft. The Commission's selection of CAROLUS supports the next step: establishing the industrial capability for Microliner production. Building out of Europe, our mission is to make regional flying commercially viable and accessible again, in Europe and for operators worldwide."

Why regional aviation needs a new aircraft

Regional aviation is particularly vulnerable to fuel price shocks. With jet fuel prices more than doubling year-on-year by October 2026 and the EU importing 57% of its energy, the region remains highly exposed to energy market volatility.

Additionally, more than 21,000 small turboprop aircraft serve regional routes worldwide. Their average age is 23 years, and no new aircraft of this size has entered service in 30 years. According to the European Regions Airline Association (ERAA), around 120 regional routes in Europe were discontinued in the five years preceding June 2026, as fuel and rising maintenance costs make short routes increasingly difficult to operate economically.

Vaeridion's Microliner is built to change these economics. Targeted operating costs below €0.40 per seat-kilometre would allow operators to offer fares at the level of a first-class rail ticket while running profitable regional services. Germany alone has more airfields accessible to the Microliner than ICE high-speed rail stations. The Microliner therefore offers an economically resilient solution to restore direct connections where there are none today and enable new ones, including routes operated under Public Service Obligation contracts. The aircraft's low noise could also enable night flights, subject to airport approval. The opportunity extends beyond replacing existing aircraft: McKinsey estimates that the global market for regional air mobility could reach up to $115 billion by 2035.

Designed for certification, built for industrialisation

Designed for regional routes, the clean-sheet Microliner combines a glider-inspired wing with patented integrated modular batteries and multi-engine, single-propeller propulsion system. It targets 400 kilometres in range with nine passengers under Instrument Flight Rules, or up to 550 kilometres with four passengers under Visual Flight Rules and is planned in passenger and cargo versions. Developed to EASA CS-23 requirements, the aircraft has in the past 12 months completed its Preliminary Design Review and second Pre-Application Contract with EASA de-risking the certification approach for its novel technologies.

While the equity round supports the first conforming Microliner and integrated propulsion testing, CAROLUS addresses the next industrial challenge: manufacturing and delivering electric regional aircraft at scale. Customer demand is already in place, spanning regional airlines, charter operators, and lessors, with commitments for more than 130 aircraft, valued at more than €730 million. Alongside its growing customer base, with ASL Group as launch customer, Vaeridion is supported by industry leaders including KLM, BayernLB and TrueNoord through its Market Advisory Committee.

Thijs Gitmans, General Partner at SHIFT Invest, said: "Regional aviation is one of the clearest cases where electrification makes both environmental and commercial sense. Vaeridion has chosen a certification pathway regulators already understand and has delivered real hardware on a disciplined budget. We are proud to lead this round and to back a European champion in electric flight with European funding."

Daria Saharova, Managing Partner at World Fund, said: "For the past half century, Airbus has shown that Europe can build aircraft the world buys. Vaeridion is writing the next chapter with a fully electric aircraft, built in Bavaria, with a clear path to certification. Investing in the future of aviation is Europe's power play, and I am proud to back Ivor and the team."

Next steps

In March 2026, Vaeridion opened its production and test facility at Oberpfaffenhofen Airport, where it recently powered on its electric engine for the first time. Next, the battery packs and propulsion system will be integrated on a ground-test rig known as the copper bird. Together with wind-tunnel testing, this will support development of the first conforming Microliner and preparations for flight testing.

The Microliner is engineered in Munich and Delft and will be built in Bavaria. Vaeridion will continue to expand its team across Europe, with a focus on scaling its technology, advancing aircraft industrialisation and certification.