Malaysia-based AirAsia has joined Heart Aerospace’s Industry Advisory Board to help shape the future of regional electric aviation. As a member of the board, AirAsia will provide strategic guidance and oversight on the design, development, and commercialisation of Heart Aerospace’s revolutionary hybrid-electric aircraft, the ES-30.
The Industry Advisory Board consists of leading airlines, leasing companies, and airports worldwide—each representing critical components of the aviation ecosystem necessary to support the transformative shift toward electric air travel.
“At AirAsia, we are committed to exploring new technologies that align with our focus on operational efficiency and sustainability,” said Captain Chester Voo, Deputy CEO (Airline Operations) at AirAsia Aviation Group. “While electric and hybrid-electric aircraft are still nascent in Asia, they represent a compelling future for sustainable air travel. We look forward to contributing our aviation experience and insights from this dynamic region to Heart Aerospace’s pioneering work.”
“With its remarkable success in making air travel affordable and its strong commitment to reducing carbon emissions, AirAsia will be an invaluable advisor to Heart Aerospace,” said Simon Newitt, President and Chief Commercial Officer at Heart Aerospace. “Their expertise and insights will help us deliver the most environmentally friendly, affordable, and accessible form of air transport.”
Heart Aerospace is developing the ES-30, a regional electric aircraft designed to accommodate 30 passengers. It will feature an electric, zero-emissions range of 200 kilometres, a hybrid-electric range of 400 kilometres with 30 passengers, and an extended range of up to 800 kilometres with 25 passengers, all while exceeding standard airline fuel reserve requirements.
To date, Heart Aerospace has secured 250 firm orders for the ES-30, with options and purchase rights for an additional 120 planes, as well as letters of intent for 191 more aircraft.
Heart Aerospace unveils full-scale demonstrator
Heart Aerospace has unveiled its first full-scale demonstrator airplane, marking a major milestone in the development of its regional hybrid-electric aircraft, the ES-30. Built almost entirely in-house at Heart’s Gothenburg facilities, the demonstrator reflects the company’s strategy to simultaneously develop both the design and production processes.
“Our industry is approaching a 30-year innovation cycle, and we have less than 25 years to decarbonise aviation. We need to develop new methods to get net zero aerospace technologies to market faster,” says Anders Forslund, co-founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace. “It is a testament to the ingenuity and dedication of our team that we’re able to roll out a 30-seat aircraft demonstrator with a brand-new propulsion system, largely inhouse, in less than two years. “
With a commanding 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 that is needed to bring new aviation technologies to market.
“Developing innovative net zero 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 leans into 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-electric 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.
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