Heart Aerospace shutters Swedish HQ in permanent move to LA
Heart Aerospace is to relocate its entire operation from Gothenburg, Sweden to Los Angeles, a year after first announcing it was to open a new Californian research and development centre.
In May 2024, the Swedish hybrid-electric aircraft designer announced it was opening a US base to “focus on the advancement of Heart’s hybrid-electric propulsion system and other key technologies,” noting at the time that North America had now emerged as the “primary market” for its clean-sheet 30-seat regional airliner, the ES-30.
Thanking the Swedish team for their support, Heart co-founder and CEO Anders Forslund nevertheless explained that as Heart’s “customers, partners and investors are increasingly based in the US,” the company sees “greater opportunity” in focusing its resources stateside. “By consolidating our operations in Los Angeles, we can accelerate development, strengthen collaboration, and better position Heart Aerospace for the future,” he added.
This includes the development of “key technologies like batteries, actuation systems, software, and hybrid-electric hardware in-house,” which Heart’s new Los Angeles chapter described as “one that prioritises iterative development and deeper vertical integration”.
Heart confirmed that its X1 full-scale technology demonstrator is still on schedule for its first flight in 2025, although it is unclear if initial timescales will be achievable. In November 2024, the company announced it had selected New York’s Plattsburgh International Airport for the first (all-electric) flight, with the maiden flight set for Q2 2025. Built at Heart’s Gothenburg site (including its proprietary propulsion system), the demonstrator has since been successfully shipped to Plattsburgh.
The permanent US move perhaps comes as little surprise given Heart’s most recent funding – having been awarded $4.1 million under the FAA’s Fuelling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition (FAST) programme in September 2024. At the time, Heart confirmed all work related to the grant (used to develop a first-of-its-kind Hybrid Propulsion Automated Control System) would be carried out in the US. In February 2024, Heart also closed its $107 million Series B funding round.
