There will be no electric planes

“The American company Eviation, which was preparing electric planes, has laid off its crew and suspended its operations.

The Arlington, Virginia-based Eviation company terminated the employment contracts of most of its engineers in mid-February, reports the Seattle Times, citing talks with those laid off.

Eviation was founded in 2015 in Israel and then moved to the US. In 2022, the company presented its first electric plane and employed 120 people at that time.

Problems with financing its operations forced the company to reduce its workforce to 70 people at the turn of 2023 and 2024 and to 30 just before the layoffs.

The main shareholder of Eviation is the Clermont Group, owned by New Zealand-born but Singapore-based billionaire Richard Chandler. He also controls the battery and electric motor manufacturer MagniX, based in Everett, Washington. Both components are used in Eviation's electric plane.

Minority shareholders from Israel were surprised by the sudden decision to close the company. In an Israeli technology magazine, Eviation co-founder Aviv Tsidon criticized the move and warned that minority shareholders could try to block Chandler's decision. He, in turn, is in talks with Arab investors.

After the first flight in 2022 of the plane named Alice (after Alice in Wonderland), Eviation assured that the 9-seat passenger and cargo versions would reach customers in 2027. The company reported that they had orders for over 600 planes worth over $5 billion. DHL Express was interested in the cargo version, among others, and ordered 12 units. It intended to use the plane on feeder routes. The range was 460 km, with a payload of 1,130 kg.

Eviation's failure is part of a series of failed investments in aviation electrification. In January, Airbus announced its withdrawal from a project to build an electric business jet, whose battery had too little energy to provide a 100 km flight with four people on board.

In February, the company suspended work on a hydrogen-powered plane, although it had proclaimed that this was the fuel of the future. It admitted that it would not be able to prepare the plane before 2035. French trade unions repeated the words of the management, who stated that the technology was 5-10 years behind schedule.

In June last year, the American company Universal Hydrogen, planning to build hydrogen planes, went bankrupt. European ventures Lilium and Volocopter also disappeared, and the Italian P-Volt announced a delay in work on an electric business jet.

Experts point to the fact that the reason is the much longer and more expensive than expected process of preparing components for electric and hydrogen machines.

 

Former Eviation CEO Greg Davis explains that the interest of funds in aviation electrification projects is waning and he expects that most start-ups in this industry may not survive, and those working for the military will be in a privileged situation."