The relocation will anchor the company in a major market which has provided most orders and options for its 30-seat aircraft, and where later this year the prototype is due to make its first flight, ahead of a revised 2029 certification target. America has also provided significant funding for the programme through both private investment and government assistance.
“We are deeply grateful to our team in Sweden for being part of this chapter of Heart’s journey, and for all the support we have received in Sweden,” said CEO Forslund, in announcing the company’s transatlantic move. “However, as our customers, partners, and investors are increasingly based in the US, we see greater opportunity in focusing our resources here.
“Our move to Los Angeles marks a new chapter in Heart Aerospace’s journey, one that prioritises iterative development and deeper vertical integration. By consolidating our operations in Los Angeles, we can accelerate development, strengthen collaboration and better position Heart for the future.”
The hybrid-electric ES-30 is designed to fly up to 200 kilometres purely on battery power with a payload of 30 passengers, each carrying 25 kilograms of luggage, or up to 800 kilometres using hybrid power, and carrying 25 passengers. The company expects battery charging to take 30 minutes.
The current version of the ES-30 – Heart’s third design following the scrapping of the initial ES-19 and the first ES-30 concept – has attracted 250 firm orders, plus options and purchase rights for another 120 aircraft, and letters of intent for over 190 more.
The largest customers, each with 100 firm orders and 50 options, are US giant United Airlines and regional operator Mesa Airlines, followed by Air Canada with 30 firm orders and aircraft lessor Rockton with 20 firm orders and 20 options. These groups have also invested in Heart, along with others including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, established by tech billionaire Bill Gates, and European aerospace company and regional aircraft pioneer SAAB.
Among the airlines to sign LOIs have been European and UK research partners Braathens Regional Airlines, SAS and Loganair, plus Icelandair and US-based JSX.
In May last year, when it announced its plans for a research and development facility in Los Angeles, Heart made clear the growing importance of the US and Canada for the ES-30 programme, but also its continuing commitment to Europe.
“Heart Aerospace, originating in the Nordics, has garnered investments worldwide, with North America emerging as its primary market,” the company said. “While the US R&D hub represents a significant milestone, Heart Aerospace remains headquartered in Europe, where it will pursue type certification in 2028.”
But the signs of frustration with European governments and greater focus on America were increasing.
In an address to the European Parliament in March last year, Heart’s Director of Government and Industry Affairs, Simon McNamara, said much of the funding for aviation technology was coming from private investors, “but traditionally funds like the EU Innovation Fund have not focused on aviation projects, and even the funding granted to SAF has been modest. We, as an industry, very much count on the Parliament’s support to help unlock and direct European financing to new aviation technology projects.”
In August, Forslund bluntly warned a Gothenburg summit of Nordic infrastructure ministers that unless governments stepped up their support of new aerospace technologies, Europe would lose innovative companies.
“The lengthy R&D cycles inherent in aerospace mean government financial support is essential for the successful market entry of these new aircraft technologies,” he said. “No modern-day aircraft has come to market without government support, whether that be through structured loans or other financial instruments which bridge the gap beyond private sector investment.
“The Nordic region, and Sweden, are ideally positioned to provide that support and retain these world-leading new technology manufacturers in their states. The risk if they do not is that the technology will be developed outside of the Nordics, potentially bleeding skills, technology and jobs.”
In September, when the company unveiled its Heart X1 testbed aircraft in Gothenburg, funded in part by the Swedish Innovation Agency, Vinnova, Forslund again flagged the importance of public-private collaboration to expedite new aviation technologies. “We need to develop new methods to get net zero aerospace technologies to market faster,” he said.
Weeks later, Heart Aerospace received a $4.1 million development grant from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under the Biden Administration’s FAST (Fuelling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition) programme. Then in November the company announced the Heart X1 prototype would make its first fully-electric experimental flight in Plattsburgh, New York, during 2025, followed by the X2 testbed in 2026.
In March this year, Forslund issued yet another warning to European governments. “The race to net zero aviation is not a distant challenge. It is a present urgency,” he said. “Without bold government action and funding, the breakthrough technologies needed to meet the industry’s 2050 climate commitments risk being delayed beyond reach.
“While private capital is beginning to flow into clean aviation, public funding is essential to de-risk early-stage development and accelerate commercialisation,” he added. “If we want Europe to be a clean-tech champion and remain competitive against the US and China, governments must provide consistent funding streams, policy certainty and incentives for scaling production.”
In particular, he focused on the need for government-backed investment in aviation battery technology, charging infrastructure and certification processes.
Heart’s announcement of its move to America has followed soon after Forslund’s comments.
Photo: Heart Aerospace plans to conduct the first fully electric experimental flight of its X1 demonstrator airplane at upstate New York’s Plattsburgh International Airport later in 2025
