Vaeridion's Microliner targets a range of 400 km (216 nm) with nine passengers under instrument flight rules.
German electric aircraft startup Vaeridion has secured €30 million ($34 million) to build the first conforming prototype of its nine-passenger Microliner, along with selection for a separate €94.5 million EU-backed grant to support production build-out.
The €30 million Series A2 equity round will fund construction of the aircraft and integrated battery and propulsion testing. The proposed EU Innovation Fund grant would support the company's Carolus project to build out and ramp up a final assembly facility at Oberpfaffenhofen Airport near Munich. The grant remains subject to completion of an agreement the company expects to sign in 2027.
The announcements come as Vaeridion moves from design work into hardware testing. The company opened its production and test facility at Oberpfaffenhofen in March and recently powered on its electric engine for the first time.
The next step will see Vaeridion's battery packs and propulsion system integrated on a ground test rig known as the "copper bird." Those tests, alongside wind-tunnel work, will support development of the conforming aircraft and preparations for flight testing.
"Our propulsion and battery technology is now being tested at our own facility in Oberpfaffenhofen," CEO and co-founder Ivor van Dartel said. "This equity round enables us to build our first conforming aircraft."
The clean-sheet, all-electric Microliner combines a glider-inspired wing containing modular integrated battery packs with multiple electric motors driving a single propeller. Vaeridion targets a range of 400 km (216 nm) with nine passengers under instrument flight rules, or up to 550 km with four passengers under visual flight rules. Both passenger and cargo versions are planned.
Vaeridion completed the aircraft's preliminary design review in June. The company is targeting commercial service in 2030. The aircraft is designed to European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) CS-23 requirements, and Vaeridion says it has completed a second pre-application contract with EASA addressing novel technologies.
The company reports conditional orders for more than 130 aircraft, valued at over €730 million, with customers including regional airlines, charter operators and lessors. ASL Group is the launch customer.
SHIFT Invest and Invest-NL led the equity round, joined by existing investors World Fund, Project A and Vsquared Ventures, alongside Payback founder Alexander Rittweger and others. Including the new round and earlier public funding, Vaeridion says it has raised approximately €60 million to date, not counting the proposed EU Innovation Fund grant.
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