Hydrogen plane startup ZeroAvia gets $21.4 million funding from Amazon, Bill Gates, Shell

California-based hydrogen-electric technology aircraft firm ZeroAvia raised $21.4 million from investors including Amazon, Shell, and Bill Gates-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

The startup is developing hydrogen-electric technology to power aircraft to make the zero-carbon flight a reality.

The three-year-old ZeroAvia, which earlier secured $16.3 million from the UK government, is partnering with British Airways to help the airline hasten the switch from fossil fuels to hydrogen to power its fleet.

According to CEO Val Miftakhov, the milestones are closing the gap for the airline industry to transition away from fossil fuels.

He added that both the aviation and the financial markets are realizing that hydrogen is the only path towards large-scale, zero-emission commercial flight.

In September, ZeroAvia's six-seater completed the world's first hydrogen-powered flight of a commercial aircraft, taking off from its research and development facility in Cranfield, England, and flying around 15 minutes.

It expects to conduct a flight of 250 miles, roughly the distance from London to Paris, in the next three months.

The company plans to commercialize its technology as early as 2023 with flights of up to 500 miles in aircraft of up to 20 seats that are typically used in regional aviation and cargo transport.

Within the next 10 years, it intends to realize flights of over 1,000 miles in aircraft with over 100 seats.

Miftakhov said that more than 10 airlines are gearing up to implement the company's technology in 2023.