Startups JetZero, Heart Aerospace and ZeroAvia are among companies selected by the FAA to receive a total of $291 million in grants under the Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition (FAST) program.

Technologies selected for funding support range from composite structures and electric propulsion to electric taxiing and low-drag windshield wipers.The bulk of the FAA funding, $244.5 million, is going to projects supporting the build out of infrastructure for the production, transportation, blending and storage of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). But the remaining $46.5 million is allocated for developing and demonstrating low-emission aviation technologies.Of the 14 technology projects supported, JetZero receives just over $8 million to develop lightweight composite structures for the non-circular pressure vessel of its planned blended wing body aircraft.The company intends to use the stitched dry-fabric, resin-infused composite technology demonstrated at full scale in the mid-2010s by NASA and Boeing under the Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure project.Hydrogen-electric propulsion developer ZeroAvia receives just over $4.2 million to build and test hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion system technologies, including the inverter and motor, in Everett, Washington, where the startup is modifying a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 to a flying testbed for its 2-megawatt powertrain.ZeroAvia has also set up to produce electric propulsion components for other customers in Everett.Swedish startup Heart Aerospace, which has a U.S. presence in Palo Alto, California, receives more than $4.1 million to develop a hybrid-electric management system to automate the dynamic control of parallel hybrid propulsion sources. Heart is developing the ES-30 30-seat regional airliner with an independent parallel hybrid powertrain comprising two turboprops and two electric engines.Otto Aviation, a startup focused on low-drag laminar flow aerodynamics, receives almost $7 million to fund wind-tunnel testing of a transonic, slotted natural laminar-flow wing integrated with a low-drag aircraft design. California-based Otto is developing the Celera 800, a “transonic super-laminar” business jet design that reduces skin-friction drag by 80% and fuel burn by 60%.Other technology projects funded by the FAA include:• Green Taxi—$5.6 million to develop and certify an electric taxi system, for the Embraer E175 initially, with an electric-driven nosewheel powered by the existing auxiliary power unit;• APIJet—$4.5 million to enhance a ground-based software tool for use by airlines to recommend fuel-optimized aircraft routings that reduce CO2 emissions;• Wright Electric—more than $3.3 million to develop a high-temperature molten lithium-sulfur battery with about three times the energy capacity of commercial lithium-ion batteries;• Honeywell—$425,000 to develop an all-electric turbogenerator auxiliary power unit to enable electrification of aircraft systems and propulsion;• AerSale—two projects totaling $757,000 to modify Boeing 737 wipers to park vertically and to install aerodynamic devices on the windshield pillars, both to reduce drag.Rounding out the technology projects funded, Boeing receives almost $2.6 million to develop a method of indicating fuel energy content to improve fuel quantity measurement and allow more accurate fuel load calculation. Collins Aerospace receives more than $1.8 million to demonstrate fuel system robustness with 100% SAF. Finally, the University of Illinois receives $2.7 million to build a scalable megawatt-class test facility for electric propulsion systems.Of the 22 SAF projects funded under FAST, seven are conducting supply-chain studies to identify infrastructure needs and 15 are building infrastructure for fuel production, transportation, blending and storage. Recipients include Arcadia eFuels, BP, Gevo, LanzaJet, Phillips 66 and World Energy.