South Yorkshire’s Mayor and South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) have approved investment for plans by Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) to produce its new low carbon aircraft, Airlander 10, in Doncaster.

HAV specialises in sustainable aircraft technology and the Airlander 10 is an ultra-low emissions aircraft, capable of carrying 100 passengers or ten tonnes of freight.

The loan investment, worth £7m will be used to support HAV to begin investing in facilities, talent and supply chains in South Yorkshire.

HAV’s plans will create over 1,200 jobs in new green technologies, and further jobs and opportunities from growth across the company’s supply chains.

By 2026, the company aims to deliver the first completed orders to its customers and build 12 new Airlander 10 aircraft per year in Doncaster thereafter.

South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “As our neighbours across the Atlantic have proved, investing in the potential of green technologies will not only help us tackle the climate emergency, it will help us create high quality new jobs and grow a bigger, better economy which takes everyone with it.

“We have a world-class cluster of companies working at the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing and green technology, so I’m genuinely excited that we can support HAV in their ambitions to build a sustainable aviation cluster here in Doncaster.”

Airlander 10 will deliver 90% fewer per-passenger emissions in flight than traditional aircraft and aims to enable zero emissions operations by the end of the decade.

The loan will enable Hybrid Air Vehicles to begin investing in the region and paves the way for it to invest up to £310m in its production programme.

HAV is also set to work with other partners across the region, including the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre at the University of Sheffield, and Doncaster UTC.

Tom Grundy, CEO, said: “We are revolutionising views of what aviation is, and Airlander is designed for us to rethink the skies.

“From day one, Mayor Oliver Coppard has bought into our vision, so I’m pleased he has announced this investment which will anchor green industries and over time create more than a thousand highly skilled jobs in Doncaster and South Yorkshire.”

HAV is progressing plans to build a flagship production facility in Doncaster, which will include facilities for the assembly of Airlander 10 aircraft, as well as testing and certification for the aircraft.

It will confirm the specific site and unveil the design of the production facilities in the months ahead.

SYMCA, HAV and Doncaster Council will team up to develop the region’s skills, talent and supply chains, with the aim of creating a new green aerospace manufacturing cluster in Doncaster and South Yorkshire.

In June 2022, Air Nostrum, a European regional airline, revealed it would become HAV’s launch airline customer with an order of ten Airlander 10 aircraft.

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Chris Dungworth, Head of Service at Business Doncaster, added: "Over a decade ago we first met the HAV team at Farnborough, since then we have been working hard to support them to bring this project to life. We were keen to showcase Doncaster's world-class cluster of advanced manufacturing and green tech companies.

"I am pleased that they have chosen to build their flagship production facility here in Doncaster and create potentially thousand of highly skilled jobs for the city. It's great to see the project move forward with this funding announcement and we look forward to supporting the next steps."

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