Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos Invest in Hydrogen Fuel Aircraft Startup

▲ Bill Gates [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft (MS), and Amazon are investing in a hydrogen fuel aircraft startup.

On the 16th (local time), according to CNN, California-based hydrogen fuel aircraft startup 'ZeroAvia' announced that it received a total investment of $21.4 million (approximately 24.5 billion KRW) from Amazon, Royal Dutch Shell, BEV, and others.

BEV is a clean energy fund established in 2015 led by Bill Gates.

Val Miftakhov, CEO of ZeroAvia, said in a statement, "Significant progress is being made for the aviation industry to move away from fossil fuels," adding, "The only way to achieve commercial flights without carbon emissions is through hydrogen aircraft."

ZeroAvia succeeded in the world's first flight of a 6-seat commercial hydrogen fuel aircraft last September. The company's aircraft flew for 10 to 15 minutes at its research and development center in Cranfield, UK.

ZeroAvia expects hydrogen fuel aircraft to fly from London to Paris within the next three months.

It also plans to commercialize a 20-seat hydrogen fuel aircraft capable of flying 500 miles (approximately 805 km) by 2023.

Within the next 10 years, the company aims to develop a 100-seat hydrogen fuel aircraft capable of flying 1,000 miles (approximately 1,610 km).

CEO Miftakhov said, "We are collaborating with more than 10 airlines to commercialize hydrogen fuel aircraft by 2023."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.