An alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Delhi is all set to build hybrid planes in the US which will be used as 1,100-km-long regional flights by early 2020s.
Ashish Kumar, who pursued his mechanical engineering from the prestigious institute, is the CEO and founder of Kirkland (Washington)-based company Zunum Aero. He is currently developing the hybrid-electric aircrafts whose range will go up to 1,600 km by 2030, reported The Times of India.
Kumar told the newspaper that Boeing and JetBlue (via JetBlue Technology Ventures subsidiary) are backing his initiative. His company will start with a sub-20 seater hybrid aircraft.
"We hope to have the first prototype flying in two years and begin commercial production in early 2020s," says Kumar, who also holds a PhD in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Cornell University.
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Kumar says that his company is looking at India in a big way.
He claims that the planes will come at cheaper price, however, it will be slower than other planes. The ability to land at airstrips closer to final destination will significantly reduce door-to-door time for flyers, says Kumar.
The hybrid planes will have lower emission and the tickets will be affordable for the flyers.
The startup intends to use the financing to further develop its proposed regional aircrafts that hold 10 to 50 passengers for flights up to 1,000 miles.
The jets primarily operate on battery power with an aviation diesel or turbine range-extending power generator available as backup, a report in Fortune said.
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Boeing said it made the investments in the startup through the ventures arm of a new group called Boeing HorizonX, an innovation cell focused on accelerating potentially transformative aerospace technologies, manufacturing innovations and emerging business models.
In a statement, Boeing HorizonX vice president Steve Nordlund said Zunums hybrid electric technology was leading the way in the up-and-coming segment, according to the Business Insider report.
According to his profile on Zunum Aero website, Kumar has held leadership roles in Microsoft, Google, Dell, and McKinsey. His startup experience includes helping the launch Aeroxchange, now the largest electronic marketplace for the aviation industry.
