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ES-30:
Getting to the Heart of the matter

Aerospace Global News caught up with Heart Aerospace CEO and co-founder Anders Forslund to discuss ongoing developments in the ES-30 programme.

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With Heart Aerospace having recently announced two significant changes to its ongoing operations – including major design amendments and a new US R&D hub – Aerospace Global News caught up with CEO and co-founder Anders Forslund to discuss ongoing developments.

“To be successful as an aerospace company, in this century, you need to be good at managing change and not be afraid to make changes,” explains Forslund, whose company is currently designing and developing the ES-30 clean-sheet electric regional aircraft. However, although Heart is “definitely not seeing [electric propulsion] as a partisan technology,” the electric propulsion pioneer nevertheless has an ambitious task ahead as it looks to commence its flight test programme in the first half of 2025.

Airframe amendments

In May 2024, Swedish startup Heart unveiled a series of not insignificant redesigns to its 30-seat concept, representing a move from an electric series hybrid design to what the company terms “independent electric hybrid propulsion”. Gone are the strut-braced wings, the winglets, the battery bay below the fuselage and the turbogenerator, the latter of which Forslund says isn’t yet available on the market in a sufficiently mature capacity.

Instead, the four-engine ES-30 will now feature two electric motors inboard, augmented with two off-the-shelf turboprops outboard to act as range extenders. No suppliers have yet been announced (with Forslund suggesting it may well be “presumptuous” to assume the ubiquitous P&WC PT6 will be the thermal powerplant of choice). However, “the great thing about this choice is that there is some optionality,” he elaborates, citing elevated industry support for the new configuration.

Although the company has no plans at present to look at re-integrating initial design elements of its purely electric concept, “we’re venturing into a design place that is much less explored than any aircraft we have built in the last decade, so we need to have a different approach,” adds Forslund. This is the second significant redesign for the platform, following the move from a 19-seat variant to the ES-30 in September 2022.

US research and development hub

It’s not just the ES-30 that’s received a radical redesign in recent months, with Heart also having announced a new R&D hub in LA, from where the first demonstrator aircraft should roll out in September (inkeeping with initial timescales). Its headquarters will remain in Sweden.

Describing LA as “one of the top hotspots for talent,” there is also “such a strong draw in the US market for what we’re doing,” elaborates Forslund. This is, in part, exemplified by Heart’s numerous investors located stateside; including Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy and United Airlines. Although speculation remains over a potential Trump presidency curtailing support for decarbonisation projects, Forslund says there is nevertheless a “great potential for electric planes in the US,” with electric aviation representing “both the decarbonisation and the democratisation of things”.

“As we go into growing this company, we’re not constraining ourselves to any one geography,” he continues, adding that the biggest impact electric aircraft will have is in rural or underserved areas. Citing the some 5,000 airports in the US available for regional connectivity, existing operators didn’t stop flying these routes due to lack of range: but rather, “it was because it didn’t make enough sense from a unit economics point of view”. Although inevitably tied to the ongoing maturation of battery technology, Heart currently projects a hybrid range of 400km for its ES-30 by the end of the decade.

Ongoing advancements

Discussions continue with EASA and the FAA regarding certification, while Heart confirms it has sufficient funding to power it through the upcoming flight test programme; with Forslund attributing ongoing “strong support” to Heart’s projected profitability of operations. “It’s [in] this phase of the hype cycle that the lessons are being learned,” he says, adding: “Having sound economic fundamentals of what you’re doing, managing risk in a good way, showing you have a good plan to execute on certified viability steps – those things matter a lot”.

To date, Heart Aerospace has secured 250 orders for the ES-30, with options and purchase rights for another 120 aircraft. The company also has letters of intent for a further 191 units.

A recent audit advisory board with airline partners has also seen Heart welcome new members to the group, including Air Asia and Loganair. As well as making sure the aircraft is applicable to a multitude of different operational scenarios, this “shows the breadth and robustness of the demand for an aircraft such as the ES-30,” concludes Forslund.