Aeristech Announces Expansion into Aerospace with HyFlyer II

• Aeristech, a leading innovator in electric motor technology, has today announced an aerospace expansion that will create up to 60 new ‘green collar’ jobs. 

Aeristech’s aerospace facility will enable the company to begin offering its expertise in market-leading power dense electric motors and motor controllers to the aerospace sector, including for hydrogen fuel-cell compressors, which will make it possible to reduce aviation emissions.

The planned expansion of Aeristech will see the company invest in an advanced facility in the West

Midlands from which the company will deliver high tech projects with its aerospace sector partners. It will also see Aeristech take on up to 60 new roles, in highly skilled areas such as power electronics and motor drive engineering.

The expansion follows the announcement of its first partnership, HyFlyer II, which will see its technology used as part of sustainable aviation innovator ZeroAvia’s UK Government-backed project to deliver the world’s first 19-seat hydrogen-electric powered aircraft by 2023. Aeristech’s cutting-edge 25kW fuel cell compressor technology will enable ZeroAvia to achieve the power output required for a 19-seat aircraft.

Aeristech has been awarded UK Government funding through the ATI Programme of £2.75m for its part in the HyFlyer II project which will further strengthen the UK’s position as a hydrogen innovation powerhouse at the forefront of aerospace technology.

The company already has market-leading technology in power dense electric motors and motor controllers and projects underway in the automotive sector.

The announcement of Aeristech’s investment in new facilities and new roles is a boost for the UK’s aerospace sector and its supply chains, which has faced closures and job losses through 2020 as a result of COVID-19. Aeristech is investing in aerospace because it sees the potential for sustainable aviation technologies to lead the sector’s recovery.

Establishing a dedicated aerospace facility will enable the company to meet the high-quality control, safety and management procedures and processes required to launch the aerospace business for success.

The HyFlyer II project is the first of a steady stream of upcoming partnerships that will see Aeristech’s electric motor and motor controllers, including for hydrogen fuel cell compressors, play a vital role in enabling the aerospace sector’s biggest names to drive sustainable aviation forward.

Duncan Kerr, Chief Executive Officer of Aeristech comments: 

“We are incredibly pleased to announce the launch of our aerospace facility and our involvement in HyFlyer II, where we will be working with industry-leading innovator ZeroAvia to bring passenger-ready zero emissions aviation to reality.

“This is a significant expansion for Aeristech and highlights the potential for our technology in aerospace applications.

“At Aeristech, we have a proven track record in other industries such as the automotive, marine, off-highway and m

aterial handling sectors. This has helped us to identify an exciting opportunity to use our technology to make large-scale, zero emissions hydrogen-electric flights possible, with the potential to create hundreds of highly skilled ‘green-collar’ jobs in the UK.”

Gary Elliott, CEO of the Aerospace Technology Institute, comments: 

“We are very pleased to see Aeristech investing in the creation of Aeristech Aerospace.

“One of the strengths of the UK’s aerospace sector is the depth of its leading eco-system of innovative, highly-regarded engineering companies and suppliers. As sustainable aviation technologies become an imperative for the sector and a commercial reality through projects like HyFlyer II, it is vital that the UK can draw upon the expertise of innovators like Aeristech Aerospace. It also demonstrates the power of the Aerospace Technology Institute: build an environment for innovation in the UK and it leads to new businesses and new infrastructure, and creates the next generation of high-tech jobs.”

About Aeristech: 

Aeristech was founded in 2006 to develop electrification of automotive supercharger systems and has since become a leading designer of advanced electric motor systems. The company is based in Warwickshire, at the heart of the UK engineering industry, with access to automotive professionals, manufacturers, and prototype component suppliers.

Aeristech’s technology enables it to manufacture the world’s fastest accelerating and most power dense permanent magnet variable speed electric motors. Aeristech’s high-speed motors are ideal for applications where efficiency, power density and speed are essential.

The company recently moved into new dedicated headquarters in Leamington Spa, with laboratories, pilot production facilities and four fully instrumented test cells for motor and turbo-machine commissioning, validation and durability testing. In 2020 the company received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation for its electric motor system designs.

About HyFlyer II: 

The HyFlyer II project aims to decarbonise medium range small passenger aircraft by demonstrating powertrain technology to replace conventional piston engines in propeller aircraft.

HyFlyer II will scale-up, develop and integrate the hydrogen-electric powertrain technology aboard an aircraft capable of carrying up to 19 passengers, which will perform initial test flights out of Cranfield and culminate in a 250 – 300 nautical mile (NM) demonstration flight out of an airfield in Orkney.

The project is led by ZeroAvia with project partners the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) and Aeristech.

The HyFlyer project is supported by the ATI Programme, a joint Government and industry investment to maintain and grow the UK’s competitive position in civil aerospace design and manufacture. The programme, delivered through a partnership between the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Innovate UK, addresses technology, capability and supply chain challenges.