GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Sept. 12, 2024 — Heart Aerospace, the Swedish hybrid-electric airplane manufacturer, has unveiled its first full-scale demonstrator airplane. This is a significant milestone in the development of its regional hybrid-electric aircraft, the ES-30.
Built primarily at Heart’s Gothenburg facilities, the demonstrator reflects the company’s commitment to developing both design and production processes simultaneously.
“Our industry is facing a 30-year innovation cycle, and we have less than 25 years to achieve net-zero aviation. We need to create new methods to bring net-zero aerospace technologies to market faster,” says Anders Forslund, co-founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace. “This is a testament to the creativity and commitment of our team that we’re able to introduce a 30-seat aircraft demonstrator with a cutting-edge propulsion system, primarily inhouse, in less than two years. “
With a 32-meter wingspan, the demonstrator, named Heart Experimental 1 (Heart X1), will serve as a platform for rigorous testing and development of Heart’s ES-30 aircraft.
Initially, the HX-1 will be used for ground-based testing, focusing on charging operations, taxiing, and turnaround procedures. It is scheduled to undertake a fully electric first flight in the second quarter of 2025. In preparation for this flight, Heart will, over the coming months, test critical systems by running hardware tests both on and off the airplane.
Development of the Heart X1 has been funded in part by grants provided by the Swedish Innovation Agency, Vinnova, highlighting the essential collaboration between government and industry needed to bring new aviation technologies to market.
“Developing innovative net-zero propulsion aerospace technologies demands a revolution in product development and manufacturing, much like what we’ve witnessed in the automotive and space industries,” said Ben Stabler, Chief Technology Officer at Heart Aerospace.
Building on the experience of developing the Heart X1, Heart is now focused on creating a state-of-the-art aircraft manufacturing process that utilizes the latest technologies in composite manufacturing and product lifecycle management, building a data-driven assembly line with high repeatability, automation, and non-destructive inspection.
Heart’s next step in developing the ES-30 is the building of a pre-production prototype, the Heart X2, which will further mature the design and production methods based on lessons learned from the Heart X1.
The Heart X2 is scheduled for a hybrid flight in 2026 and will demonstrate the company’s Independent Hybrid propulsion system. In August, Heart Aerospace was selected for a $4.1 million grant by the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Fuelling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition (FAST) program to develop the management system for the hybrid-electric propulsion.
This momentum will continue with the establishment of a pilot manufacturing plant to accelerate prototyping toward the manufacturing of a fully conforming aircraft, with Heart targeting type certification of the ES-30 by the end of the decade.
The ES-30 is a regional hybrid-electric airplane with a standard seating capacity of 30 passengers, which promises to deliver unparalleled sustainability and efficiency on short-haul routes. With an electric zero-emission range of 200 kilometres and an extended hybrid range of 400 kilometres.
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Heart Aerospace
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Christina Zander
About Heart Aerospace
At Heart Aerospace we work at the cutting edge of technology while contributing towards a sustainable future. Heart’s mission is to decarbonize and democratize air travel. This mission is grounded in the outlook that electric air travel will become the new normal for regional flights and can be transformational in addressing the industry’s key sustainability challenges.
SOURCE Heart Aerospace AB