ZeroAvia has acquired the leading fuel cell stack innovator HyPoint.

The acquisition adds HyPoint’s advanced high-temperature fuel cell technology – a promising avenue for increasing power output and energy density of aviation fuel cell powertrains – to ZeroAvia’s expertise in developing the full powertrain to enable hydrogen-electric flight.

All 40 HyPoint team members will be integrated into ZeroAvia, working across the R&D locations in Kemble, Gloucestershire, and HyPoint’s location in Sandwich, Kent.

HyPoint’s CEO Alex Ivanenko joins ZeroAvia as GM for VTOL and New Segments, to develop ZeroAvia’s rotorcraft business applications, and to explore other applications outside of ZeroAvia’s core focus on fixed-wing commercial aviation.

All of HyPoint’s engineering team will join ZeroAvia’s Hydrogen Power Generation Systems (PGS) division led by Rudolf Coertze, CTO Hydrogen.

‘Significant forward step’

Val Miftakhov, CEO and Founder, ZeroAvia, said: “We see this as a significant forward step for ZeroAvia, and a hugely important strategic step to strengthen our leadership position in hydrogen-electric powertrain development for aviation.

“There are no other organisations with the breadth of expertise and world-leading IP in hydrogen-electric aviation that we now have within the company.

“This acquisition, together with our long-standing partnership with the leading LTPEM (low-temperature PEM) fuel cell maker PowerCell, puts us in the top position for delivering the most environmentally and economically attractive solution to aviation’s growing climate impact.”

Ivanenko said: “This acquisition is the natural next chapter in our journey, allowing us to tap into the benefits of the larger and strategic resources that ZeroAvia has to offer.

“It will accelerate our product development and, as a result, partners from different market segments will get mature products based on novel turbo-air cooled HTPEM hydrogen fuel cells.”
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