A Brisbane-based startup that is building hydrogen-powered aircraft engines and hypersonic drones (UAVs) has raised $46 million in a Series A funding round. NASA is also planning to test the company’s 3D-printed technology soon.
The funding round for Hypersonix Launch Systems was led by UK national security investor High Tor Capital, with support from European defence company Saab, Polish family office RKKVC, and the National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC), which invested $10 million in its first defence project.
The round also included investment from the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) and values the defence startup at $141 million.
Hypersonix was founded in 2019 by Michael Smart and David Waterhouse. Dr. Smart, who is the company’s CTO, previously worked as a NASA research scientist and was the chair of hypersonic propulsion at the University of Queensland.
The company’s board is chaired by Arthur Sinodinos, a former federal science minister.
The company aims to create a new generation of eco-friendly, high-performance flight systems for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) powered by hydrogen instead of kerosene. Their 3D-printed reusable engine, called Spartan, is a type of scramjet.
The Spartan engine has no moving parts and could reach speeds of up to Mach 12, which is about 14,818 km/h.
“What we’re building is a sovereign platform that’s clean, cost-effective, and engineered for the real world,” he said.
The Series A funding will support a test flight of DART AE, a 3.5-meter-long hypersonic vehicle powered by the Spartan engine, with backing from NASA and the Pentagon. The test will take place at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, USA.
This will be the world’s first sustained hypersonic flight using green hydrogen as fuel.
Hypersonix CEO Matt Hill said having the NRFC behind such a critical strategic capability sends a powerful message.
“It shows real confidence in our mission and highlights the importance of building clean, reusable aerospace systems that meet today’s national security needs while shaping tomorrow’s industry,” he said.
The deep-tech defence startup is also setting up advanced manufacturing facilities in Queensland. The new funding will help speed up work on its second project, called VISR (Velos Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) — an 8-meter-long, reusable hypersonic aircraft powered by four Spartan engines and running on hydrogen fuel.
The VISR aircraft is designed for surveillance missions, fast deliveries, and space system testing.
High Tor Capital CEO James Chiswell said “We see enormous potential in platforms like DART AE and VISR that are transforming how we think about access to the edge of space and high-speed defence”.
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