Hybrid Air Vehicles signs MoU with South Yorkshire JESSICA Urban Development Fund
Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) has announced the signing of a MoU to explore financing opportunities with the South Yorkshire JESSICA Urban Development Fund. The two will focus on enabling economic growth through sustainable development, enhancing long-term growth prospects and competitiveness of the region, providing infrastructure to generate jobs, and working closely with public sector partners to draw in and leverage private sector capital.
This announcement includes a production facility in South Yorkshire for the Airlander 10, HAV’s first production aircraft, which is capable of 100-seat passenger mobility, a ten-tonne payload of freight transportation, or any combination of the two. The site location was announced earlier this year at Carcroft Common, creating over 1,200 direct and highly skilled jobs at a gross value added of £90,000, and an export opportunity worth in excess of £1bn a year.
At Carcroft Common, HAV will develop its flagship facilities for Airlander 10’s production, testing and certification operations, with the goal of scaling up to a production rate of up to 24 aircraft per year.
HAV’s choice to base production in South Yorkshire builds on the success of the South Yorkshire Investment Zone, focused on improving investment into advanced manufacturing. “South Yorkshire’s skilled workforce and entrepreneurial spirit make it the perfect location for our advanced manufacturing hub,” said Tom Grundy, CEO of HAV. “This collaboration not only supports the City of Doncaster’s Economic Strategy 2030 but also positions the region as a global leader in sustainable aerospace innovation.”
Christian Foster, Chair of the South Yorkshire JESSICA Urban Development Fund, added: “SY JESSICA Fund is extremely excited to hear about Hybrid Air Vehicles’ proposition, a world leading aviation company with the ability to transform the regional economy. The SY Jessica Fund naturally is keen to explore the opportunity to provide financial support to the project, and quite simply, this is a game changer for the whole UK.”
South Yorkshire JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas), which was once part of an EU initiative, provides effective development debt funding for commercial property and regeneration projects in South Yorkshire at commercial lending rates.
