The French government has awarded an €800,000 ($969,000) grant to eSTOL aircraft developer Avions Mauboussin under its Plan de relance aéronautique program to help the country’s aerospace industry recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The funding, announced on February 16 by the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, provides support for the development of the Zéphyr hybrid hydrogen propulsion that will power its planned Alérion M1h and Alcyon M3c aircraft.
The Avions Mauboussin team is starting work this year on the Zéphyr technology at its base at Belfort in eastern France and expects the project to run through the end of 2024. The company now plans to get a jet-A-fueled hybrid version of the two-seat Alérion M1h model in service in 2025, followed by a hydrogen-powered model in 2027. Similarly, the respective timeline dates for the six-seat Alcyon M3c are now projected to be 2026 and 2028.
