Sweden-based Heart Aerospace’s Series B also included United Airlines, Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Y Combinator and other investors. The funding will go toward certifying and developing the hybrid powertrain for Heart’s 30-passenger, short-haul plane. (The Logic)

Talking point: CEO Anders Forslund said in a release the company hopes the economics of electric aircraft will bring air travel routes to new markets and back to communities that have lost service. It plans to build a full-scale aircraft demonstrator this year. With backing from both venture investors and potential customers like airlines, Heart appears to be following a customer-first approach also used by compatriot firm, Northvolt. Air Canada, which ordered 30 Heart planes in 2022, is putting US$5 million toward the plane’s type certification, a process which ensures designs are airworthy. The Montreal-based air carrier, which previously backed cleantech firms like Carbon Engineering, said it plans to invest in a “range of revolutionary new technologies.”