Air Canada announced that it invested in Heart Aerospace, an electric airplane startup, and it is ordering 30 units of a new version of its first electric aircraft.
Battery technology has improved enough that short-range commercial planes are starting to make sense.
Several startups are working on viable electric aircraft, and some are starting to get the attention of major airlines.
Heart Aerospace is one of those startups.
We reported on the Sweden-based startup last year when it made a splash by unveiling the ES-19, a 19-seat electric aircraft meant for short flights. The ES-19 was meant to have up to 250 miles (400 km) of range, but the range is commercially viable for short-range flights with 19 passengers.
When unveiling the aircraft last year, Heart Aerospace also announced that it secured investments from important partners: United Airlines Ventures (UAV), Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which is Bill Gates’s investment vehicle, and Mesa Airlines.
At the time, United and Mesa announced that they have placed an order for 100 ES-19 electric planes and that they had an option for 100 more.