GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Sept. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Heart Aerospace, the Swedish hybrid-electric airplane maker, today unveils 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 decarbonize 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 propulsion 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 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.
This momentum will continue with the establishment of a pilot manufacturing plant to accelerate prototyping toward the manufacturing of a fully conforming aircraft, with Heart targeting type certification of the ES-30 by the end of the decade.
The ES-30 is a regional hybrid-electric airplane with a standard seating capacity of 30 passengers, which promises to deliver unparalleled sustainability and efficiency on short-haul routes. With an electric zero-emission range of 200 kilometres and an extended hybrid range of 400 kilometres.
For more details join our live stream presentation at 13.00 CET, September 12th.
Please find more images and video here.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Heart Aerospace
Email: press@heartaerospace.com
Phone: +46 728 889 610
Christina Zander
christina.zander@heartaerospace.com
About Heart Aerospace
At Heart Aerospace we work at the cutting edge of technology while contributing towards a sustainable future. Heart's mission is to decarbonize and democratize air travel. This mission is grounded in the outlook that electric air travel will become the new normal for regional flights and can be transformational in addressing the industry's key sustainability challenges. www.heartaerospace.com
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Heart Aerospace Unveils First Full-Scale Demonstrator for 30-seat Hybrid-Electric Airplane
New ECW Results Report highlights significant learning outcomes achieved for children and adolescents in crisis settings and calls for urgent additional donor support to meet the rapidly escalating needs.
NEW YORK, Sept. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The global community is falling behind on its promise to ensure 'quality education for all' by 2030. Armed conflicts, forced displacement, climate change, and other emergencies and protracted crises have left more than 224 million crisis-affected children in urgent need of education support, a sharp rise from 75 million in 2016.
Despite these growing needs, funding for education in emergencies and protracted crises dropped for the first time in a decade, according to Education Cannot Wait's 'Results Against All Odds: 2023 Annual Results Report', launched today in New York.
Overall humanitarian funding for education decreased by 3% last year, from US$1.2 billion in 2022 to US$1.17 in 2023, according to the report.
Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations, and its strategic partners continue to defy the odds, delivering life-saving, life-sustaining and multi-year investments in education to the world's most vulnerable children and adolescents.
Since ECW became operational in 2017, its investments have reached 11 million children and adolescents, including 5.6 million girls and boys in 2023 alone. This reach is unprecedented. Yet, much more resources are needed to meet the needs of the over 224 million children, adolescents and their teachers in need of urgent support.
To date, the Fund has mobilized more than US$1.6 billion from public and private donors. However, $600 million urgently needs to be mobilized in donor contributions for ECW and its strategic partners to reach a total of 20 million children and adolescents with inclusive, quality education by the end of its 2023-2026 strategic plan period.
"For our 25 strategic donor partners, these transformative investments deliver a quality child-centered and holistic education, and thus represent a commitment to sustainable development, human rights, economic resilience and global security," said The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of ECW's High-Level Steering Group. "Education is the most powerful tool to restore hope in a world marred by brutal conflicts, human rights violations and inequality. It is our investment in a new generation of leaders."
Impact, Depth and Sustainability
From Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gaza, the West Bank, to Haiti, the Sahel, Sudan, Ukraine and other hotspots around the globe, ECW's report highlights the profound impact of education in crisis settings.
"Girls and boys in crises are enduring the worst impacts of brutal man-made conflicts, forced displacement, climate change and other disasters. Our new report proves that despite these challenges, it is possible to provide them with the protection, hope and life-changing opportunity of a quality holistic education. To do this, we urgently call for US$600 million to meet our strategic plan targets and ensure a better future for 20 million girls and boys by the end of 2026," said ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif. "This is the time to make a moral choice that is aligned with political action."
The new report shows ECW's strong focus on the world's most vulnerable and at-risk children: of the children reached in 2023, more than half were girls (51%), 17% were internally displaced and 22% were refugees.
The quality and impact of the education delivered – even in the most difficult of circumstances – is also improving. In all, 9 out of 10 programmes reported improved school enrollment and 72% showed gender-equitable progress. ECW reported that, among programmes able to monitor learning outcomes, 80% of its investments demonstrated academic improvements and 72% showed improvements in children's social and emotional learning and well-being.
ECW investments also improved the continuity of learning with notable increases in the number of girls and boys reached through the Fund's investments in early childhood education and secondary school, disability inclusion, gender-transformative approaches, mental health support, and agile, holistic solutions that address whole-of-child needs.
The climate crisis is an education crisis. The number of children reached through First Emergency Responses resulting from climate-induced hazards nearly doubled from 14% in 2022 to 27% in 2023.
"Education is a public good and a fundamental right. To achieve our goals, global leaders must align policies, funding and humanitarian principles. Multilateral aid funding must immediately be increased to reverse the current downward trend, and partnerships and collaboration must be strengthened across humanitarian, development and peace efforts. Education Cannot Wait has shown us that the seemingly 'impossible' is indeed possible – provided that the funding is made available," said The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown.
Note to Editors
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Results Against All Odds: Education Cannot Wait Reaches 11 Million Children in Crises Worldwide
