South Yorkshire Mayor and local leaders approve £7m investment in Hybrid Air Vehicles’ Airlander aircraft project

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority have approved a package of investment and support for plans by Hybrid Air Vehicles to produce its pioneering new low carbon aircraft, Airlander 10, in Doncaster. HAV is a UK-based leader in sustainable aircraft technology and the Airlander 10 is an ultra-low emissions aircraft, capable of carrying 100 passengers or ten tonnes of freight. The loan investment, worth £7m will be used to support HAV to begin investing in facilities, talent and supply chains in South Yorkshire. HAV plans will create over 1,200 new high value and highly skilled jobs in new green technologies, and further jobs and opportunities from growth across the company’s supply chains. 

By 2026, the company aims to deliver the first completed orders to its customers and build 12 new Airlander 10 aircraft per year in Doncaster thereafter.

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard commented: “I was elected as South Yorkshire’s Mayor on a pledge to build on our world-leading assets in the region and create a bigger, smarter and greener economy. As our neighbours across the Atlantic have proved, investing in the potential of green technologies will not only help us tackle the climate emergency, it will help us create high quality new jobs and grow a bigger, better economy which takes everyone with it. We have a world-class cluster of companies working at the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing and green technology, so I’m genuinely excited that we can support HAV in their ambitions to build a sustainable aviation cluster here in Doncaster.”

Airlander 10 will deliver 90% fewer per-passenger emissions in flight than traditional aircraft and aims to enable zero emissions operations by the end of the decade. 

 The agreement with SYMCA is a major milestone for HAV’s plans to bring Airlander to market. The loan will enable Hybrid Air Vehicles to begin investing in the region and paves the way for Hybrid Air Vehicles to invest up to £310m into its production programme.HAV is also set to work with other partners across the region, including the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre at the University of Sheffield, and Doncaster UTC.

Tom Grundy, CEO of Hybrid Air Vehicles said: “At Hybrid Air Vehicles we are revolutionising views of what aviation is, and Airlander is designed for us to rethink the skies. From day one, Mayor Oliver Coppard has bought into our vision, so I am delighted that he has announced this investment which will anchor green industries and over time create more than a thousand highly skilled jobs in Doncaster and South Yorkshire. We will work with outstanding regional partners, including Mayor Ros Jones and Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, Doncaster UTC, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the University of Sheffield, to establish a world-leading cluster for green aerospace technologies, skills and supply chains.”

HAV is progressing plans to build a flagship new production facility in Doncaster, which will include facilities for the assembly of new Airlander 10 aircraft, as well as testing and certification for the new aircraft. It plans to announce the specific site and unveil the design of its production facilities in the months ahead.

To maximise the potential of this programme, SYMCA, HAV and Doncaster Council will also work in partnership to develop the region’s skills, talent and supply chains, with the aim of creating a new green aerospace manufacturing cluster in Doncaster and South Yorkshire.

In June 2022, Air Nostrum, a leading European regional airline, announced it would become HAV’s launch airline customer with an order of ten Airlander 10 aircraft, with the aircraft’s impressive sustainability performance, operating economics and ability to operate away from airports being important motivating factors.