MONTE Signs Definitive Purchase Agreement for ZeroAvia Hydrogen-Electric Engines

MONTE Signs Definitive Purchase Agreement for ZeroAvia Hydrogen-Electric Engines

Energy transition turboprop lessor secures production slots for last year’s provisional 100 zero-emission ZA600 powertrain order.

@Paris Airshow — June 20, 2023: ZeroAvia today announced that it has cemented its agreement with MONTE Aircraft Leasing (MONTE), converting its existing MOU for up to 100 engines to a definitive Purchase Agreement.

For ZeroAvia, this deal represents an important commercial milestone, with the first ZA600 build slots being secured by MONTE. As ZeroAvia begins to plan for its production facilities, a good proportion of initial manufacturing capacity is now under commitment.

MONTE is now well positioned to seize significant market share in zero-emissions regional turboprop aircraft leasing. 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 testingalmost complete, the company is on track to meet its 2025 certification timeline.

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.”

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.”

ZeroAvia announced the updated deal with MONTE from Paris Airshow, where the company is exhibiting its zero-emission propulsion technology at stand B207, Hall 4. ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric engines use fuel cells to convert onboard hydrogen fuel into electricity, which then powers electric motors to deliver truly clean flight.