Heart Aerospace has unveiled its first full-scale demonstrator aircraft on September 12, 2024. It marks a significant step in the development of its 30-seat hybrid-electric aircraft, the ES-30.
The aircraft, Heart Experimental 1 (Heart X1) was built in-house at the Swedish developer's Gothenburg facilities.
"Our industry is approaching a 30-year innovation cycle, and we have less than 25 years to decarbonize aviation," said Heart Aerospace cofounder and CEO Anders Forslund. "We need to develop new methods to get net zero aerospace technologies to market faster."
The aircraft will serve as a platform for the testing and development of its ES-30 aircraft.
Development of the Heart X1 was funded in part by grants provided by the Swedish Innovation Agency.
The next step in developing the ES-30 will be building a pre-production prototype of the Heart X2.
The company filed two EU design applications and one patent application for a new nacelle integration design that will "significantly" improve the flight characteristics of the ES-30, allowing it to operate on shorter runways.
The company also completed ground support procedure tests for electric aircraft as part of the Swedish research project ELISE. It was conducted in collaboration with Braathens Regional Airlines, SAS, and Swedavia.
In addition, Malaysia-based AirAsia joined Heart Aerospace's industry advisory board on September 12, 2024. The board consists of airlines, leasing companies and airports.