Toulouse-based French hydrogen aviation startup Beyond Aero has secured an additional $20 million in its Series A funding round. This brings the company’s total capital raised to $44 million, including debt and grants. The round was co-led by venture capital firm Giant Ventures and public investment bank Bpifrance through the Deeptech 2030 fund, which is part of the French government’s “France 2030” initiative to support the country’s technology startup ecosystem.
Beyond Aero, an alumnus of Silicon Valley’s Y Combinator startup incubator program, is developing a hydrogen-powered business aircraft designed to carry six to eight passengers over distances of up to 800 nautical miles. The startup is currently advancing its proprietary hydrogen fuel cell technology and has recently invested $12 million in a state-of-the-art hydrogen propulsion lab to research, build, and test its powertrain prototypes.
Beyond Aero secures Series A funds
In February 2024, Beyond Aero achieved a significant milestone by completing the first hydrogen-powered flight in France using a two-seater light aircraft retrofitted with one of the firm’s hydrogen-electric powertrains. The company has already accumulated 108 pre-orders for its aircraft, with a combined worth of nearly $1 billion. Beyond Aero’s co-founder and CEO, Eloa Guillotin, described the investors as “a powerful alliance,” with Giant Ventures offering invaluable guidance, a client network, and a global perspective, while Initialized Capital, a supporter since the seed round, brings founder experience in scaling industry leaders.
The company is redesigning the architecture of a CS23 aircraft from the ground up, optimizing it for hydrogen-electric propulsion. The initial flight test of Beyond Aero’s prototype hydrogen-electric propulsion system, conducted aboard a Zenair CH750 earlier this year, marked France’s first crewed fully hydrogen-electric flight. Brett Gibson, managing partner at Initialized, praised the progress made by Beyond Aero, noting that “the team has achieved milestones that would take years for others building in this space.” The company’s recent funding and advancements mark significant steps toward revolutionizing business aviation with sustainable, zero-emissions technology.
