Eviation has laid off 30 of its staff and has paused work on its nine-passenger Alice fixed-wing electric aircraft as it seeks new investment. According to a source close to the U.S-based company, a small team has been retained as its main shareholder, the Clermont Group, tries to get commitments from new financial backers and industrial partners.

What’s old is new again when it comes to aircraft that can take off and land on the water. This message permeated throughout the Future Opportunities for Seaplanes & Amphibious Aviation conference—held February 11 in Miami—in various forms: retrofitting existing airframes with more sustainable electric/hybrid-electric powerplants; dusting off decades-old designs in hopes of restarting their production; and clean-sheet low- or zero-carbon-emissions aircraft.

Jetcruzer International has placed a firm order for ZeroAvia's 600-kilowatt electric propulsion system to support development of its six-seat hydrogen-electric 500E airplane, the companies announced today. According to ZeroAvia, this is the first firm order for the ZA600, which the company has developed to convert aircraft carrying up to 20 passengers to hydrogen power. It has previously reported preorders for 2,000 units. 

The FAA has granted Archer Aviation’s flight school the Part 141 certificate it needs to begin training and certifying commercial pilots, the California-based eVTOL aircraft manufacturer announced on February 18. Archer’s pilot academy, will initially use a Bell 206 helicopter for flight training activities starting in late 2025, with flight training on the Midnight aircraft expected to begin once the FAA grants type inspection authorization, a company spokeswoman told AIN.

French charter operator Jet Systems Hélicoptères Services has signed an agreement to buy a pair of Volocopter’s VoloCity two-seat eVTOL aircraft. The deal was announced on February 18 with the German manufacturer still seeking new investors to avoid insolvency.

UK start-up Catalsys is proposing its green ammonia-based power generation technology for airport ground operations and potentially for aircraft propulsion. This week, the sustainable aviation investment fund SkiesFifty announced it will establish a joint venture with Catalsys to fund early-use cases for the process, which involves converting sustainably produced “green” ammonia into an ammonia and hydrogen fuel mix to run generators that supply off-grid electricity.

Hanyang Investment Development Group plans to establish a fleet of 12 eVTOL aircraft being developed by AutoFlight as part of a plan to launch new air services in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The company announced a deposit-backed agreement on February 12, saying that it will pay ¥157 million ($21.5 million) for a mix of Shanghai-based AutoFlight’s CarryAll autonomous aircraft and the five-seat Prosperity passenger-carrying model.

Skyports Infrastructure has revealed its proposed designs for a series of vertiports it intends to build in Abu Dhabi to prepare for the launch of advanced air mobility operations, including eVTOL air taxi services and UAVs, or drones. The London-based infrastructure developer worked with Abu Dhabi-based drone company LODD to come up with the vertiport design concepts, which they jointly revealed on February 11 during the ICAO Global Implementation Support Symposium in Abu Dhabi.