Advanced propulsion developer Dovetail Electric Aviation’s efforts to bring to market an electric powertrain have been boosted by new funding from the Spanish state.
Dovetail is to collaborate with project lead Aciturri and ITP Aero on a €5.6 million ($6.3 million) initiative, called “sustainable hydrogen-electric propulsion technologies for next-generation aircraft”.
While the exact financial breakdown has not been disclosed, Dovetail says a “significant part” of its €2.5 million budget will be covered by the funding from Spain’s CDTI agnecy.
Designed to support the development and integration of a hydrogen-electric powertrain conversion for a CS-23-category aircraft, the effort will utilise Dovetail’s battery pack and electric propulsion system (EPS).
David Doral, chief executive of Dovetail, says ground tests using a static test asset – a Cessna Caravan airframe – will begin in the summer, against a goal of delivering a flight-ready aircraft by the end of 2025, ahead of a maiden sortie early the following year.
Dovetail unveiled the first version of its EPS – the electric motor, inverters, power electronics and battery pack – at the Avalon air show in Australia earlier this year.
Doral says the next iteration of the 670kW system will be integrated into the ground-test aircraft, with another updated version to be installed in the flight-test vehicle, another Caravan.
Although Dovetail has previously considered the Beechcraft King Air as its second conversion project, Doral says the firm is instead leaning towards the De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter.
As a result, it has been “really active” in its engagement with operators over the last year, he adds.
Despite the shift away from the Beechcraft twin-turboprop, Dovetail will still benefit from its previous interest in the type.
Part of Rex’s investment agreement was the provision of a single example, which Dovetail is now on the cusp of selling, providing a healthy boost to its coffers.
Doral says the company is continuing to seek external funding and hopes in the coming months to wrap up its ‘Seed Tranche 2’ round, which will “take us to the first certification flights”; Dovetail then intends to close a Series A round by end-2026.
Testing of the powertrain for the Cessna will take place in southern Spanish city Seville, although the firm is exploring a potential future move across the French border to Toulouse. “In 2026 it will be easier to decide,” says Doral.
