The 19-seat regional airliner could be ready to start flight testing with a combination of its turboprop engines and the company's ZA600 hydrogen-electric powertrain by September 2022.
Rolls-Royce Electrical's exhibit at the Aero Friedrichshafen show in Germany included the Spirit of Innovation electric aircraft, which recently smashed world speed records.
Avionord is the latest Italian private company to invest in Manta Aircraft, which is also supported by Italian government-backed CDP Venture Capital fund.
The Chinese eVTOL aircraft developer acknowledges that it needs to meet SEC requirements for transparency in financial reporting to avoid the prospect of being delisted from New York's Nasdaq stock exchange.
While North American bizav flight activity had its strongest April on record last month, European activity surged by 74.8 percent in the month, Argus said.
The $91 million program is aimed at advancing eVTOL aircraft technology, as well as uncrewed air traffic management and ground infrastructure including vertiports.
Canadian regional airline Air Tindi will provide one of its Dash 7 twin turboprop aircraft to be converted to an electric propulsion system for NASA-backed flight trials.