Beyond Aero to Create 225 Aerospace Jobs to Build 120 Hydrogen-Electric Aircraft
- HYSKY Society
- Dec 11
- 4 min read
On December 9, 2025, Danielle McLean of HYSKY Society interviewed Yannick Schwartzenbart, Head of Program Industrialization at Beyond Aero. The discussion focused on the company’s new feasibility study for its future final assembly factory. This facility will build the world’s first certifiable hydrogen-electric business aircraft.
Over 200 Aerospace Jobs
The study shows that the selected region will gain 225 high-skill aerospace jobs. These positions include technicians, engineers, quality specialists, logistics staff, and hydrogen-electric integration experts. This type of workforce brings long-term economic growth to a community.
According to McLean,
“A factory like this will create tremendous growth for the region and be a magnet for aerospace jobs.”
These positions bring long-term stability to a local economy, strengthen supply chains, and attract new investment and training programs.
Factory press release:
Beyond Aero is also taking a practical approach to hydrogen certification. Many competitors focus on liquid hydrogen. Beyond Aero is starting with gaseous hydrogen at 700 bar. Schwartzenbart explained that liquid hydrogen requires major infrastructure that will not be ready by the early 2030s. Gaseous hydrogen systems can use infrastructure that already exists at several European airports. Mobile refueling solutions also exist today. This choice helps Beyond Aero move faster through certification and reach the market sooner.
Schwartzenbart explained the reasoning clearly:
“Gaseous hydrogen lets us certify on time and deploy the aircraft where hydrogen is already available. It is the practical path to market.”
Economic Development Opportunity for Region
The new factory is designed to build 60 aircraft per year, with room to increase production to 120 aircraft annually. This will allow Beyond Aero to operate as a full aircraft manufacturer.
Beyond Aero has more than $1 billion in Letters of Intent. These LOIs represent interest in purchasing more than 100 aircraft. The factory will be used to fulfill those commitments.
Universal Hydrogen's IP
Beyond Aero also acquired important assets from Universal Hydrogen. These include all of Universal Hydrogen’s patents, flight test data, digital data, electric turbocompressors, and key powertrain integration technology.
This acquisition gives Beyond Aero the benefit of more than $90 million of engineering work already completed.
TRL6 press release:
With this context in place, here is what Yannick Schwartzenbart shared with me during our conversation.
Interview With Yannick Schwartzenbart, Head of Program Industrialization at Beyond Aero
Danielle:
I’m so happy to be talking with you, Yannick. The feasibility study outlining your future factory is exciting. Before we get into the industrial side, let’s start with the aircraft. How is Beyond Aero positioning itself as a hydrogen-electric aircraft developer?
Yannick:
Our goal is to bring a hydrogen-powered aircraft to market, starting with a six- to eight-passenger business aircraft. We’ve made key technology decisions like gaseous hydrogen at 700 bar instead of liquid hydrogen. This choice aligns with our aircraft size and our certification timeline.
Danielle:
Let’s talk about that hydrogen strategy. Many in the industry are planning to shift to liquid hydrogen eventually. You’ve chosen to commit to gaseous hydrogen. Why?
Yannick:
It comes down to realism. We aim to certify and bring the aircraft to market in the early 2030s. Large-scale liquid hydrogen infrastructure simply will not exist by then. Gaseous hydrogen infrastructure, however, already exists at multiple airports, and we have workable mobile solutions.
Gaseous hydrogen provides slightly lower performance, but within our aircraft size, it still meets our mission. And it allows us to deploy on time.
Irwin Kerboriou on our team has been working with airports for more than two years and created a map showing hydrogen airports, production sites, and refueling stations across Europe. Many are operational today. This gives us confidence that the gaseous path is the right one.
Danielle:
That map is incredibly helpful. It shows the ecosystem is already there. Now let’s talk about the factory. Your press release says Beyond Aero is searching for its industrial home. What exactly will this facility include?
Yannick:
The large building in the renderings is the final assembly line. That’s where major components will come together.
To the left is our R&D and testing center, with a dedicated bench testing area behind it. Near the runway is the delivery center and customer showroom. The open area between these buildings is the flight line, where we will conduct ground tests before delivery.
This is a complete manufacturing campus. It was designed with Porsche Consulting, which has deep expertise in aerospace and automotive industrialization, and with an architect experienced in major aviation facilities.
This feasibility study isn’t just conceptual—it includes assembly flow, station design, logistics, energy planning, cost modeling, and the whole industrial architecture.
Danielle:
Do you already know where the factory will be located?
Yannick:
Not yet. Selecting the future site is a structured process, and it will take time. What we can share today is the feasibility work behind the factory itself: the industrial footprint, the production flows, the capabilities required to build the BYA-1 at scale.
This study helps us clarify internally what our long-term industrial home must look like, and it gives potential partners a clearer understanding of the type of ecosystem needed to support hydrogen-electric aircraft manufacturing. But no location has been chosen at this stage.
Danielle:
And part of becoming an OEM is job creation. You expect 225 production jobs at launch. These are high-value, specialized aerospace positions. What impact do you think this will have on the location you ultimately select?
Yannick:
These are very specialized jobs—engineers, technicians, assembly teams, logistics, hydrogen-electric integration experts. A facility like this attracts highly skilled people and strengthens the local workforce.
And yes, it stimulates the regional economy. New people move in, local suppliers grow, and the area develops an ecosystem around electric aviation. That’s one reason we are talking openly about our industrial plan—it shows the scale of opportunity for potential host regions.
Danielle:
You also have over $1 billion in letters of intent. Can you share more about those?
Yannick:
They represent the intent to purchase over 100 aircraft from Beyond Aero. Converting them from LOI into firm orders is a key milestone ahead.