Huaxi Aviation Completes Tens of Millions Yuan Seed Round Financing

Huaxi Aviation Completes Tens of Millions Yuan Seed Round, Focuses on Hydrogen-Turbine Range-Extended Full-Tilt eVTOL

36Kr has learned that full-tilt eVTOL developer Huaxi Aviation has completed a seed round financing worth tens of millions of yuan, exclusively invested by CMB International. The funds will primarily be used for core technology R&D, team expansion, verification aircraft test flights and airworthiness certification advancement, as well as commercial scenario implementation and market expansion.

World's First Hydrogen-Turbine Hybrid eVTOL Developer

Huaxi Aviation positions itself as a technology company engaged in overall aircraft design, core component R&D and manufacturing, and VTOL supporting facility operations. The company's most significant technological highlight is that it is the world's first enterprise to propose and develop a hydrogen-turbine hybrid eVTOL, charting a technical route distinctly different from pure electric propulsion.

In the current eVTOL industry, the pure electric propulsion route is constrained by battery energy density bottlenecks, with range and payload capacity remaining core pain points limiting commercialization. Huaxi Aviation has chosen the hydrogen-turbine range-extension technical approach, aiming to significantly enhance aircraft range and payload capacity through a hybrid power architecture, providing more practical solutions for future Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and regional logistics transportation.

A Star-Studded Team with "National Aerospace Team" Credentials

Huaxi Aviation boasts a remarkably impressive team, bringing together professional talent from China's top aerospace institutions including Tsinghua University, Beihang University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Northwestern Polytechnical University, along with senior experts from "national team" organizations such as China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, and Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

Founder Zhang Xin graduated from the Helicopter Department at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics — the only department in China with complete undergraduate, master's, and doctoral helicopter training qualifications — where his research focused on flight dynamics and control. After graduation, Zhang Xin worked for seven years at an institute under the Third Academy of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, earning an exceptional promotion to Senior Engineer at age 29, making him the only young technical leader in the entire institute to receive such an honor that year.

Throughout 17 years of study and work, Zhang Xin has remained deeply rooted in the field of aircraft design. His project experience spans from 400-kilogram autogyros to 11-ton helicopters, and from solar-powered manned aircraft to hypersonic planes — covering virtually the entire aircraft spectrum and accumulating exceptionally rich full-spectrum aircraft design experience.

From Aerospace Systems to Entrepreneurship: Tsinghua Lab Ignites the Startup Spark

In 2022, Zhang Xin left the aerospace system and spent three years working at Tsinghua University's Spray Combustion and Propulsion Laboratory. It was this experience that reconnected him with cutting-edge vertical takeoff and landing aircraft technology and enabled him to keenly identify the enormous potential of combining hydrogen energy propulsion with eVTOL. The laboratory's deep expertise in combustion and propulsion laid a solid theoretical and experimental foundation for Huaxi Aviation's subsequent hydrogen-turbine hybrid technology route.

Industry Outlook and Prospects

The low-altitude economy has become a national strategic emerging industry, with the eVTOL sector on the cusp of explosive growth. According to multiple institutional forecasts, the global urban air mobility market is expected to surpass the trillion-yuan level by 2035. However, the limitations of the pure electric route in terms of range, payload, and all-weather operations have created an urgent industry need for diversified propulsion solutions.

Huaxi Aviation's chosen hydrogen-turbine range-extension route is expected to achieve qualitative breakthroughs in endurance capability and commercial viability, opening up space for eVTOL applications in broader scenarios including logistics transportation, emergency rescue, and intercity commuting. With this round of financing secured, Huaxi Aviation will accelerate its verification aircraft test flights and airworthiness certification process, taking a critical step toward commercialization.

The competitive landscape of the low-altitude economy is evolving rapidly, and the competition among technical routes is intensifying. Whether Huaxi Aviation can stand out in the field with its differentiated hydrogen-turbine hybrid solution remains well worth watching.