On December 16, 2020, ZeroAvia, a company with a mission to transition the world to zero-emission, hydrogen-fueled flight, picked up a significant tailwind as it announced $21.4 million in new funding in a Series A round. Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Ecosystem Integrity Fund led the raise, with follow-on investors Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Horizons Ventures, Shell Ventures, and Summa Equity. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented ZeroAvia in the transaction.

The fundraise allows ZeroAvia to further accelerate the development of its hydrogen-electric powertrain. The Series A funds the next phase of the company's R&D program, which focuses on developing and testing the certification-ready ZA-600 powertrain capable of flying 10-20-seat aircraft up to 500 miles. The investment comes on the heels of the company completing the UK's first-ever commercial-scale, battery-electric flight in June 2020 and the first flight of the largest hydrogen fuel cell aircraft in September 2020 as part of the innovative HyFlyer I project. ZeroAvia expects a  long-distance flight of 250 miles in the next three months.

In addition, the company established a partnership with British Airways and received approval for new UK government funding through the ATI Programme to deliver an additional $16.3 million of non-dilutive funding breakthrough 19-seat hydrogen-electric powered aircraft that is market-ready by 2023. The start-up's funding announcement brings the total new funding to $37.7 million and the total funding since inception to $49.7 million.

The Wilson Sonsini team that represented ZeroAvia in its Series A funding includes:

Corporate
Bob O'Connor
Brady Berg

CFIUS
Josh Gruenspecht

Intellectual Property
Hin Au

For more information, please see ZeroAvia's press release.​