Merlin Pilot, the autonomous flight system that Boston-based Merlin has been testing on U.S. military aircraft, is expanding into the commercial cargo sector with the launch of “Merlin Pilot for Commercial Cargo.” The offering is part of a product family Merlin calls Condor, which the company introduced on May 14—the same day Merlin released its first quarterly financial report as a public company.

A report from Sweden’s Chalmers University of Technology has cautioned that, under existing European Union rules, sustainable aviation fuels may become more expensive and energy-intensive. After analyzing different methods for producing synthetic methanol, the study concluded that regulatory bias risks “locking in” less resource-efficient manufacturing methods.

Vertical Aerospace has started testing with its Hybrid Propulsion Evaluation Rig as part of its work to develop a hybrid-electric version of its Valo VTOL aircraft. In a program update released on May 19, the UK company also said it produced the first battery manufactured at the assembly line it opened in March at the Vertical Energy Centre in Bristol.

Noemi Aerospace has begun building its first full-scale electric seaplane prototype while expanding plans for the aircraft beyond regional passenger service. The Norwegian start-up says the same airframe could support firefighting, skydiving, cargo, medevac, and military missions through hybrid-electric or conventionally powered variants, with first flight targeted for 2027 and commercial operations expected to commence by 2030.

Hydrogen propulsion pioneer H2Fly is stepping up efforts to bring a fuel cell-based powertrain to market. The German company’s CEO, Ralph Müller, told AIN that a hydrogen-electric propulsion system must have high gravimetric power density, strong efficiency, and low maintenance costs to be competitive.

The venture capital arm of Indian airline IndiGo recently invested $1.2 million in Bangalore-based VTOL aircraft developer Sarla Aviation. The backing from IndiGo Ventures is expected to accelerate the start-up’s efforts to bring its six-seat, hybrid-electric Shunya model to market by early 2030.

In the protracted race for certification, four of the front-running eVTOL developers continue to expand the envelope of their flight-test prototypes. However, while Archer Aviation, Eve Air Mobility, Joby Aviation, and Vertical Aerospace continue to progress with their programs, cash considerations remain an inevitable headache.