HAV Airlander project is approved for £7 million investment

Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV, Bedford, U.K.), a sustainable, hybrid airship company producing the highly composite Airlander 10 aircraft, has been approved for an investment and support package by South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) to produce its low-carbon aircraft in Doncaster, U.K.

The loan investment, worth £7 million, will be used to support HAV to begin investing in facilities, talent and supply chains in South Yorkshire. HAV’s plans will create more than 1,200 high-value and highly skilled jobs in new green technologies, and further jobs and opportunities from growth across the company’s supply chains. By 2026, the company aims to deliver the first completed orders to its customers and build 12 new Airlander 10 aircraft per year in Doncaster thereafter.

The Airlander 10 is an ultra-low emissions aircraft, capable of carrying 100 passengers or 10 tonnes of freight; CW reported on its progress in March 2021. The hybrid aircraft will deliver 90% fewer per-passenger emissions in flight than traditional aircraft and aims to enable zero emissions operations by the end of the decade.

The agreement with SYMCA is reported to be a major milestone for HAV’s plans to bring Airlander to market. The loan will enable the company to begin investing in the region and paves the way for it to invest up to £310 million into its production program. HAV is also set to work with other partners across the region, including the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at the University of Sheffield, and Doncaster UTC.

“At Hybrid Air Vehicles we are revolutionizing views of what aviation is, and Airlander is designed for us to rethink the skies,” Tom Grundy, CEO of Hybrid Air Vehicles, says. “From day one, Mayor Oliver Coppard has bought into our vision, so I am delighted that he has announced this investment. We will work with regional partners, including Mayor Ros Jones and Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, Doncaster UTC, the AMRC and the University of Sheffield, to establish a world-leading cluster for green aerospace technologies, skills and supply chains.”

HAV is progressing plans to build a flagship new production facility in Doncaster, which will include facilities for the assembly of new Airlander 10 aircraft, as well as testing and certification for the new aircraft. It plans to announce the specific site and unveil the design of its production facilities in the months ahead.

To maximize the potential of this program, SYMCA, HAV and Doncaster Council will also work in partnership to develop the region’s skills, talent and supply chains, with the aim of creating a new green aerospace manufacturing cluster in Doncaster and South Yorkshire.