Pomegra
VÆRIDION raised a €30M Series A2 and won a €94.5M EU grant, giving the German electric aircraft maker over €124M to build its first Microliner prototype.
- VÆRIDION closed a €30M Series A2 led by SHIFT Invest and Invest-NL.
- The EU Innovation Fund adds €94.5M through the CAROLUS project, about 76% of the headline total.
- First conforming prototype and flight tests are targeted for 2027, with EASA certification aimed at 2030.
Lead
VÆRIDION, the Munich-area developer of a nine-seat electric regional aircraft, announced on November 5, 2026 that it has secured more than €124M in combined equity and grant funding. The equity piece is a €30M Series A2 led by SHIFT Invest and Invest-NL. The remainder is a €94.5M grant from the European Commission's Innovation Fund, awarded to the company's CAROLUS project. The money will pay for the first certification-conforming Microliner prototype and a final assembly line at the company's Oberpfaffenhofen site.
How Much of the €124M Is Actually Venture Money?
Roughly a quarter of it is. The €30M equity round is the only part investors priced and negotiated, and the company has not disclosed a valuation. The €94.5M is public grant money tied to a specific project, which makes it non-dilutive but also earmarked.
Existing backers World Fund, Project A and Vsquared Ventures returned, joined by PAYBACK founder Alexander Rittweger. VÆRIDION says it has now raised about €60M from private investors in total. That compares with the €14M Series A it announced in December 2024, which World Fund led. The A2 is more than double that cheque, though small by aerospace standards.
What Does the Company Plan to Build?
The Microliner is an all-electric aircraft for nine passengers or 10 cubic metres of cargo. The company targets a 400 km range under instrument flight rules and 550 km under visual rules with four passengers. Its design features a glider-inspired wing, integrated modular batteries and a multi-engine, single-propeller system. The stated operating cost target is below €0.40 per seat-kilometre.
The aircraft is being designed to EASA's CS-23 rules. VÆRIDION has completed a preliminary design review and a second pre-application contract with the regulator. It is applying for design organisation approval.
Where Does Development Stand?
The company is still in the ground-test phase. Its production and test facility at Oberpfaffenhofen Airport opened in March 2026, its electric engine has been powered on, and a ground-test rig known as a "copper bird" is being integrated. Founder and CEO Ivor van Dartel said the company has turned the Microliner "from a validated design into hardware, with exceptional capital efficiency."
Manufacturing of the first conforming prototype is expected in early 2027, with flight testing the same year. Type certification and entry into service are targeted for 2030. Prototype-to-certification schedules in electric aviation have slipped repeatedly across the sector, and a five-year gap between a first conforming flight and certification leaves little room for delay.
What Is the Demand Evidence?
VÆRIDION reports commitments for more than 130 aircraft, valued at over €730M, or about €5.6M per aircraft. Belgium-based ASL Group is the launch customer. KLM, BayernLB and TrueNoord are named as advisory supporters.
These are commitments, not firm deliveries, and no deposits have been disclosed. The order book shows airline interest in a cheap-to-run nine-seater. It does not yet show that the aircraft will meet its range and battery targets.
Why Does the Grant Matter More Than the Round?
The grant matters because it covers most of the development cost without giving up equity. The Innovation Fund backs projects that cut emissions, and a €94.5M award signals that Brussels sees short-haul electric flight as worth funding at this stage. For investors, it reduces the cash VÆRIDION must raise privately before the prototype flies.
The drawback is that grant disbursements typically follow project milestones and reporting requirements. If the 2027 flight programme slips, the timing of the money could slip with it. SHIFT Invest's Thijs Gitmans called regional aviation "one of the clearest cases where electrification makes both environmental and commercial sense."
Outlook
VÆRIDION now has funding for a prototype and an assembly line, but not for certification and series production, which will need a larger round. The next test is the 2027 flight programme: whether the prototype reaches the 400 km IFR range on battery power will decide how the company raises its next round and how much of the 130-aircraft order book converts to firm orders.
