VerdeGo Aero has announced that its VH-4T hybrid-electric powertrains delivered earlier this year are now approaching first flight with an undisclosed airframer. The U.S. company, which since April has delivered several of the 400-kilowatt units for ground testing, is raising fresh capital as it scales up production capacity over the next 12 to 18 months.

This podcast is a primer for anyone evaluating investment opportunities in aircraft electrification. In it, VerdeGo Aero Co-Founder and CEO Eric Bartsch joins venture capital firm Balerion Space Ventures to discuss the evolution of electric aircraft, from early battery-electric programs to today’s hybrid-electric propulsion systems. Bartsch explains why the hybrid-electric power market is starting with large military drones, why mid-scale cargo is the commercial segment most ready to buy, and how VerdeGo Aero is working with the FAA and defense agencies and military branches to certify and qualify its systems.

VerdeGo Aero, Inc., has announced they are now shipping the VH-4T-RD hybrid-electric powerplant to customers, marking the transition from internal research and development to active customer deployment for pre-certification applications.

VerdeGo Aero has announced the latest upgrades to its Hybrid Systems Integration Lab (HSIL), enhancing testing capabilities with newly integrated hardware-in-the-loop flight simulation. The upgraded HSIL now provides an even faster path to market, enabling simulated piloted flight integrated with VerdeGo’s hybrid powerplants.

VerdeGo Aero has begun low-rate production of its VH-4T-RD hybrid-electric powerplant.

VerdeGo Aero has established itself as a leader in hybrid-electric propulsion as the aviation industry looks to capture the advantages of electric power - such as enhanced efficiency and the ability to use distributed electric motors - while preserving the range, endurance, and payload capabilities required for demanding missions. Read how VerdeGo is harnessing hybridization in the November issue of Vertiflite by Vertical Flight Society (VFS).

VerdeGo Aero, Inc. has achieved significant milestones in demonstrating, through analysis, the mission capability advantages of hybridizing an electrified VTOL rotorcraft under a Phase II Program contract under NASA’s SBIR Ignite program. Throughout the Phase II effort, VerdeGo Aero has demonstrated the concept of the application of the VH-3 and VH-4T turbine hybrid-electric powerplant in a novel high-speed advanced helicopter design based on the Hummingbird 300L and nicknamed “Speedbird.”

VerdeGo Aero Inc. has achieved significant milestones in demonstrating, through analysis, the mission capability advantages of hybridizing an electrified vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) rotorcraft under a Phase II Program contract under NASA’s SBIR Ignite program, which began in September 2024.

VerdeGo Aero has achieved a perfect score for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 2, required for participation in US Department of War programmes. VerdeGo is one of the first companies within the electric aviation sector to achieve compliance ahead of the full implementation of CMMC on November 10th, 2025. The firm’s implementation of all 110 NIST SP 800-171 security requirements ensures robust protection of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in support of Department of War (DoW) programmes.

VerdeGo Aero announced it received a U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovation Research Phase III contract for $9.7 million to bring its VH-4T hybrid-electric powerplant to a production configuration and to build and test the first prototype VH-4T-415.