Blended-wing-body aircraft developer JetZero confirms it has chosen Greensboro, North Carolina as the location of its planned aircraft production site and has secured state aid for the site that could reach $1.5 billion.

The California-based firm will build the site on the grounds of Greensboro Triad International airport, it said on 12 June.

The facility could create more than 14,500 jobs and produce 20 of the company’s envisioned Z4 passenger aircraft monthly by the late 2030s, it adds.

JetZero's envisioned Greensboro facility

Source: JetZero

JetZero says its planned Greensboro site could produce 20 aircraft monthly by the late 2030s

“The state’s aerospace ecosystem, access to world-class research, university and technical colleges, and commitment to bringing innovative businesses to the state, were key factors in JetZero’s selection,” the company says. “JetZero is taking a clean-sheet approach to designing and building the factory.”

The office of North Carolina governor Josh Stein says the state “anticipates” providing the project with up to $450 million for “construction of the manufacturing and research and development facility” and other “site preparations”, including those related to roads, water and wastewater.

The company also could receive, over 37 years, as much as $1 billion in cash through North Carolina’s Job Development Investment Grant programme. Those payments will depend on tax revenue generated by new jobs. The programme’s funds are intended to “help offset the cost of locating or expanding a facility in the state”, according to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

JetZero's envisioned Greensboro facility

Source: JetZero

JetZero’s plans for Greensboro will benefit from state aid that could hit $1.5 billion over decades

JetZero expects construction of the Greensboro site will begin in the first half of next year. It aims to deliver the first Z4 in the early 2030s.

The company has generated interest in its ambitious plan but has a long way to go before producing the Z4 and bringing it to market.

The Z4’s blended-wing-body design – a wholesale break from the traditional tube-and-wing design of all other airliners – will generate less drag and burn half as much fuel as today’s aircraft, JetZero says.

Bringing any aircraft, let along one with a novel design, through development and certification is an incredibly complex and expensive project. Outcomes are uncertain.

Z4 is to carry about 250 passengers and fly routes of roughly 5,000nm (6,260km) – filling the so-called “middle-market” segment of the airliner market. JetZero intends to fly a full-scale Z4 prototype in 2027.

JetZero Z4

Source: JetZero

JetZero says its envisioned Z4 blended-wing-body passenger jet wil be 50% more efficient than conventional airliners