The Australian government has awarded Dovetail Electric Aviation an AUD$3 million grant to advance its plans to convert turboprop aircraft such as the Cessna Caravan, DHC Twin Otter, Beechcraft King Air, and Casa C212 to electric propulsion. This marks a further boost to the startup’s plans to market electric aircraft. 

The University of New South Wales and the government-backed Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation will also be involved in the project. Sydney Seaplanes, which is part of the parent company for Dovetail, will also help to develop, test, and certify the propulsion technology and its integration with the aircraft.

Initially, the partners are seeking a supplemental type certificate to convert the Caravan. They then aim to get approval for another version of the aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel cells and, after that, to add retrofits for the King Air, Twin Otter, and C212 between 2027 and 2028. The battery electric conversions will initially use MagniX’s 650-kilowatt motors and batteries provided by Mobius energy.

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