Los Angeles Attracts Major Electric Aviation Player as Heart Aerospace Moves HQ from Sweden

Swedish aircraft manufacturer brings clean aviation technology to California as part of strategy to scale U.S. operations amid growing industry support and recent funding success.

Heart Aerospace, the hybrid-electric aircraft manufacturer, is relocating its corporate headquarters from Gothenburg, Sweden, to Los Angeles, California, as part of its strategy to enhance development efforts in the United States. The company cites the growing presence of its partners and investors in the U.S. as a key factor driving the decision.

The Swedish plane maker is currently scaling up its U.S.-based team amid expanding opportunities in the American market. According to the company, the move will support its focus on “deeper vertical integration” and more effectively advance its upcoming experimental flight programs, including the Heart X1 prototype and future Heart X2 prototype.

“Our move to Los Angeles marks a new chapter in Heart Aerospace’s journey—one that prioritizes iterative development and deeper vertical integration,” said Anders Forslund, co-founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace. “For the X2, we’re developing key technologies like batteries, actuation systems, software, and hybrid-electric hardware in-house. This approach allows us to refine and enhance our systems continuously, just as we’ve done with the X1 prototype, which has seen extensive testing and major design updates since its initial rollout in 2024.”

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The relocation follows significant financial momentum for Heart Aerospace, which recently completed a $107 million Series B funding round and secured an additional $40 million in investment. The company has also opened a new Research and Development hub in the United States and received a $4.1 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Fuelling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition program to develop a management system for its hybrid propulsion technology.

Heart Aerospace’s first fully electric experimental flight of its demonstrator aircraft, Heart Experimental 1, is scheduled for later in 2025 at Plattsburgh International Airport in upstate New York. The company selected this location because of its position in the Champlain Valley, a growing center for new transportation technology, as well as the airport’s large airfield, low traffic volume, and strong local support.

The company’s flagship aircraft, the 30-seat ES-30, is positioned to become the largest fully electric aircraft ever to fly. Designed for short-haul routes, it offers a zero-emissions all-electric range of 200 kilometers, which can be extended to 400 kilometers in hybrid mode.

Heart Aerospace’s expansion comes at a pivotal time in the electric aviation market. While numerous companies are developing electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles, few are working on electric regional aircraft capable of seating at least 10 passengers. In this category, only two manufacturers have stood out: Heart Aerospace and Eviation.

However, the competitive landscape shifted in February 2025 when Eviation, the Israeli-founded company behind the nine-seat Alice electric aircraft, ceased operations and laid off staff. According to Aerospace Testing International, the move was to give the company “time to explore strategic opportunities.”

Eviation had planned for its Alice aircraft, designed for commuter and cargo use, to reach a top speed of 480 km/h with a range of up to 400 km and flight endurance of up to two hours. The plane maker had aimed to begin certification testing this year with plans for service entry by 2027, but the aircraft completed only a single flight in September 2022.