Structured around development of hybrid-electric powertrain for short-haul aircraft, with one electric engine and one conventionally fueled engine, Ampaire Inc introduced the hybrid powertrain as an intermediate step toward development of a fully electric aircraft. The firm's first twin-engine plane has a combustion engine in the nose and an electric engine in the tail, providing redundancy and improved levels of safety. Ampaire, Inc. is developing high performance, zero emission aircraft to transform the landscape of aviation. Its team has expertise in energy storage, propulsion, and aircraft architecture. In February 2021 it had been announced that Surf Air - a subscription-based private aviation service operating in Southern California - would acquired Ampaire. In April 2022. the announcement was that Surf Air would no longer be going ahead with its planned $100 million acquisition of hybrid-electric. Instead in late November 2022, the US Department of Energy announced a $100 Million fund to boost commercialization of eight new clean energy technologies - one beneficiary of that being Ampaire.
