ZeroAvia is to build a major manufacturing facility for production of its hydrogen-electric powertrains at the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland, close to Glasgow airport in Renfrewshire.

ZeroAvia’s Hydrogen Centre of Excellence will support the company in a range of manufacturing operations relating to powertrain production and testing and will also be the company’s primary location for production of advanced high temperature PEM (HTPEM) fuel cell stacks and supporting systems. With nearly 3,000 full engine and component orders agreed with airlines and OEMs – corresponding to over $10 billion in future revenues - ZeroAvia is advancing its production operations to meet demand.

The new facility will complement ZeroAvia’s Propulsion Center of Excellence in Washington State which is focusing primarily on electric motors and power electronics. The company also has plans to expand its RandD and aircraft testing centre at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire.

The project in Scotland, which will unlock millions in private investment and support hundreds of jobs over the next few years, has been made possible by a £9m Regional Selective Assistance grant from Scottish Enterprise. This follows an equity investment of £20m from the Scottish National Investment Bank into ZeroAvia as part of the company’s Series C funding, with the UK National Wealth Fund investing £32m as a cornerstone-level investor in the round. The Series C round was led by Airbus, Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital and NEOM Investment Fund.

The UK Government awarded ZeroAvia and consortium partners £10.5 million to develop the advanced HTPEM fuel cells in 2024 via the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) programme in conjunction with the Department for Business and Trade and Innovate UK. The UK Government has awarded ZeroAvia £18.5 million total RandD funding since 2019 to develop their fuel cell and powertrain technology. This support alongside more than $250 million private investment has enabled ZeroAvia to make rapid progress: flying the world’s first hydrogen-electric commercial scale aircraft in 2020, more than doubling the power output to again fly the world’s largest hydrogen-electric aircraft in 2023, manufacturing and shipping fuel cell systems to customers, and securing significant regulatory traction for the certification of its first powertrains.

Val Miftakhov, founder and chief executive, ZeroAvia, says: “Scotland has some unique advantages for ZeroAvia with strong aerospace and engineering skills, a burgeoning hydrogen sector and a clear aviation strategy with potential for early adoption of zero-emission flights. The aviation industry is on the cusp of the biggest transformation since the advent of the jet age, with entirely new propulsion systems set to power the next era of aviation – cleaner flights, better economics and better experiences for all.”

“With this new facility, Scotland has a big role to play in driving this transformation. We welcome the grant award from Scottish Enterprise and the support of our equity investors that has enabled us to move into another phase of manufacturing readiness as we progress towards certification of our first engines.”

ZeroAvia is advancing certification of a 600kW hydrogen-electric powertrain with the UK CAA, and also working with the regulator as part of its Hydrogen Sandbox Challenge. The company is also developing the next generation of fuel cell aircraft engines with its ZA2000 for 40-80 seat aircraft. Scaling to meet the power and operational requirements for these larger aircraft requires advanced fuel cells with higher power-to-weight ratio. The high temperature fuel cells that ZeroAvia will manufacture in the planned Glasgow facility are key to unlocking fuel cell propulsion for larger aircraft.

ZeroAvia will advance planning of its facility at AMIDS over the next few months and plans initially to locate team members at the adjacent National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS).