From Dubai to New York within 2 hours may seem far-fetched, but not for Destinus. The Swiss company founded in 2021 by Russian entrepreneur Mikhail Kokorich is revolutionizing air transportation with the development of the hydrogen-powered hypersonic cargo aircraft.
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The Destinus hypersonic airplane project
Destinus wants to revolutionize the aviation industry and enter a new era of superfast and environmentally friendly air transportation. In February 2022, Destinus – which has offices in Switzerland, Germany, Spain, and France – closed an initial funding round with a $29 million raise among North American, European, Asian, and South American investors.
Investors include Conny & Co, a Luxembourg – based VC fund that invests in Europe and the fastest – growing emerging markets such as LATAM, Southeast Asia or India. It is part of the “House of Funds” of Mountain Partners, a global network of venture capital funds founded by Dr. Cornelius Boersch, who joined the board of Destinus.
The next leg of the investor roadshow will be in September in Italy. With the aim of bringing Destinus ever closer to achieving its goal of raising more regional capital to finance the further development of the pan-European project.
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Destinus hypersonic plane, the first testings
November 2021 saw the first flight test in the Munich suburbs with the Jungfrau prototype. Which was designed, built and tested in less than four months since the company was founded.
While in April 2022 the start-up worked on launching the second bus-sized Eiger prototype. In the coming months, Destinus plans to test liquid hydrogen-powered prototypes in southern Spain that will break the wall of sound.
The company is currently focused on developing its air-breathing rocket engine that combines conventional jet engine and ramjet technologies.
This key technology will power the Hyperplane from takeoff to high supersonic speeds. And will meet the need for fast and clean transportation by meeting the major challenges facing aviation today, such as environmental preservation, speed and range.
A second €15 million grant project, on the other hand, will fund research into aspects of liquid hydrogen propulsion.
Read also: All about Overture Jet, the supersonic plane that will connect London and New York in 3.5 hours
