ZeroAvia props up fuel cell tech position by acquiring HyPoint

The aircraft propulsion innovator has wholly acquired the company to boost its H2 product offerings.

ZeroAvia has announced that it has wholly acquired HyPoint, a fuel cell tech specialist, further solidifying its offering of H2 products.

ZeroAvia is best known for the H2 powertrains it develops for aircraft, especially in the United Kingdom.

The two companies have already been operating closely, particularly in the United Kingdom, over the last two years. The acquisition of HyPoint by ZeroAvia arrives on the heels of a previous partnership with the intention of developing hydrogen fuel cell stack tech with PowerCell Sweden, a Scandinavian energy company.

As of the writing of this article, the terms of the agreement for ZeroAvia to acquire HyPoint had not been publicly disclosed. That said, according to ZeroAvia, it will now have access to the HyPoint high-temperature fuel cell tech. ZeroAvia described this as a “promising avenue” for boosting energy density and power output.

The hydrogen fuel cell tech company is a “hugely important strategic step.”

According to Val Miftakhov, ZeroAvia CEO and existing member of the advisory board at HyPoint, the deal between the companies is a “hugely important strategic step” for the consolidation of ZeroAvia’s position in the H2 powertrain development in aviation.

“There are no other organisations with the breadth of expertise and world-leading intellectual property in hydrogen-electric aviation that we now have within the company,” added Miftakhov.

The acquisition will bring the engineering team from HyPoint into ZeroAvia’s hydrogen power generation systems division. All of HyPoints 40 employees will be integrated with ZeroAvia throughout its UK sites in Gloucestershire and Kent.

Alex Ivanenko, CEO at HyPoint, will become VTOL and new segment development general manager, according to a statement from ZeroAvia. Ivanenko will be particularly focused on rotorcraft and other areas beyond fixed-wing hydrogen fuel cell tech propulsion. Ivanenko has called the HyPoint acquisition a “natural next chapter”, giving it access to ZeroAvia’s resources.

“HyPoint has garnered recognition as an innovator developing technology with the potential to significantly expedite the introduction of fuel cell propulsion into larger aircraft,” explained a statement from ZeroAvia. The company has been in the spotlight for its work on adapting its H2-powered engine to Dornier 228s.

Article in a nutshell…

-ZeroAvia has acquired HyPoint in order to boost its H2 product offerings
-The two companies have been operating closely together for the last two years
-The acquisition will give ZeroAvia access to the HyPoint high-temperature fuel cell tech
-The acquisition of HyPoint by ZeroAvia will bring the engineering team from HyPoint into ZeroAvia’s hydrogen power generation systems division.
-All of HyPoint’s 40 employees will be integrated with ZeroAvia throughout its UK sites in Gloucestershire and Kent.
-Alex Ivanenko, CEO at HyPoint, will become VTOL and new segment development general manager.