MONTE signs definitive purchase agreement for ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engines
MONTE today announced that it has cemented its agreement with ZeroAvia, converting its existing MOU for up to 100 engines to a definitive Purchase Agreement. MONTE is now well positioned to seize significant market share in zero-emissions regional turboprop aircraft leasing. For ZeroAvia, this deal represents an important commercial milestone with the first ZA600 build slots being secured by MONTE.
MONTE and ZeroAvia aim to retrofit 9-19 seat aircraft with ZA600 powertrains for airline operators starting in 2025, while also providing financing, infrastructure, maintenance and hydrogen availability services to support these operations.
ZeroAvia is working to certify ZA600, a 600kW powertrain designed to support 9-19 seat aircraft, with the Cessna Grand Caravan planned as the launch airframe. With the first phase of prototype flight testing almost complete, the company is on track to meet its 2025 certification timeline.
Timothy Eyre, Chief Operating Officer, MONTE, said: “We are delighted to have formalized our partnership with ZeroAvia, who have made incredible progress on the ZA600 powertrain since we signed our initial MOU. Through this partnership, we have strengthened MONTE’s position in the zero-emission, regional turboprop market and enhanced our ability to offer operators solutions to decarbonize their fleets. We look forward to continuing our work with the ZeroAvia team as we continue on our journey to become one of the world’s first zero-emission aircraft lessors.”
James Peck, Chief Customer Officer, ZeroAvia, said: “As well as the huge technical and design milestones we are clearing, in tandem we are making enormous commercial progress, which means that operators will be able to fly lower cost, truly clean aircraft, sooner. Given its pure play focus on decarbonization, MONTE is a great partner for us and we believe they will be at the forefront of enabling these early green operations in a growing market.”
About MONTE
MONTE is a leader in financing zero and low emission technologies in the regional aviation market. MONTE is exclusively focused on supporting the aviation industry’s transition to net zero carbon emissions by providing financing and leasing solutions for sustainable aviation to regional aircraft operators. For more, please visit www.montecleantech.com or follow @MONTE on LinkedIn
About ZeroAvia
ZeroAvia is a leader in zero-emission aviation, focused on hydrogen-electric aviation as the initially targeting a 300-mile range in 9–19 seat aircraft by 2025, and up to 700-mile range in 40–80 seat aircraft by 2027. Based in the US and the UK, ZeroAvia has already secured experimental certificates for its three prototype aircraft from the CAA and FAA, passed significant flight test milestones, secured a number of key partnerships with major aircraft OEMs, secured $10B in pre-orders from a number of the major global airlines, and is on track for commercial operations in 2025. For more, please visit ZeroAvia.com, follow @ZeroAvia on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.