ZeroAvia is stepping up flight testing of its 600-kilowatt hydrogen-electric propulsion system as it aims to get a converted regional airliner into commercial service in 2025. The company says it will soon announce the first aircraft type to be converted, as well as a manufacturing partner and a launch airline customer.

Dufour Aerospace, a Swiss company developing a family of hybrid-electric eVTOL aircraft for both passengers and cargo, says it has closed a Series B funding round with a new investment from the private jet group Vista Global Holding. 

Terra Drone, which already provides drone operations and uncrewed traffic management services in 10 countries, is now establishing a Saudi Arabian division following a $14 million investment by the country's government-owned energy group Aramco. The Japan-based company also intends to support eVTOL aircraft operations through partnerships with vehicle manufacturers and operators.

The FAA has issued a special airworthiness certificate and a certificate of authorization for MightFly's Cento eVTOL prototype, allowing the San Francisco-based start-up to expand the scale of flight testing with the autonomous freighter. The company plans to operate the Cento itself and promises significant cost savings for customers, including manufacturers needing to accelerate supply chains, medical and pharmaceutical groups, and retailers.

Australia's Dovetail Electric Aviation and its European sister company, Dante Aeronautical, are working to convert regional aircraft to use battery-electric or hydrogen fuel cell propulsion systems. These plans have been boosted by new government funding.

The new advanced air mobility test base at Augsburg Airport in southern Germany will be used by air traffic automation specialist Skyroads and partners including eVTOL aircraft developers Superal, Manta, and FlyNow Aviation, public transportation platform Flix, the Technical University of Munich, and drone companies Hybrid-Airplane Technologies and Blueflight, as well as the Horyzn student research initiative and flight controls specialist Amazilia Aerospace.

Vertical Aerospace says it has secured a pre-delivery payment from Japanese trading and investment conglomerate Marubeni Corporation for 25 VX4 eVTOL aircraft, making Marubeni Vertical’s first customer in Asia to back its VX4 orders with a down payment.

On January 19, ZeroAvia achieved its first hydrogen-powered flight with a 19-seat Dornier 228 commuter aircraft. For the takeoff from the company's UK test base at Kemble Airport, the company replaced one of its Honeywell TPE-331 turboprop engines with its fuel-cell-based powertrain. This marks the start of a flight test campaign that ZeroAvia hopes will lead to converted aircraft being ready to enter commercial service in 2025.

Arc Aerosystems (formerly Samad Aerospace) is now working on plans for a hybrid-electric rotorcraft called the Linx P9, as well as reworked designs for its Starling eVTOL vehicles, which have been rebranded as the C-900 and the C-150. The new plans were first made public in January 2023.