MagniX

magniX
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryAerospace manufacturer
Founded2005 in Queensland, Australia
HeadquartersEverett, Washington, U.S.
ProductsElectric propulsion systems for aircraft
OwnerClermont Group
Websitewww.magnix.aero

magniX (/ˌmæɡniˈɛks/ MAG-nee-EX[1]) is an electric motor and battery manufacturer wholly owned by Singapore investor Clermont Group.[2] With products for use in aerospace and defense,[3] the company is headquartered in Everett, Washington, United States, where it has a 40,000 square foot facility for R&D and manufacturing.[4] The company's electric propulsion systems have been used in test flights for several aircraft, including a DHC-2 Beaver seaplane, the Eviation Alice, a de Havilland Dash 8 using a hydrogen fuel cell, a Robinson R44 helicopter,[5] and a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan,[6] among others.

History

2005-2018: Early years

The company was established in 2005 in Australia[7] by Tony Guina, an inventor and entrepreneur. Originally named Guina Energy, it was founded[8] as a research and development firm focused on electric motors.[9] In 2016 it became a fully owned subsidiary of the Clermont Group.[8]

In 2017, the company was rebranded as magniX. magniX's original prototype electric motor, the magni5,[8] was first successfully tested in 2017.[7] By 2018, it could produce 265–300 kW (355–402 hp) peak at 2,500 rpm at 95% efficiency with a 53 kg (117 lb) dry mass motor, having a 5 kW/kg (2.3 kW/lb) power density. The magni5 competed with the 260 kW (350 hp), 50 kg (110 lb) Siemens SP260D for the Extra 330LE.[10] In 2018, magniX moved its headquarters from Australia to the United States,[11] establishing an engineering facility in Redmond, Washington.[9]

2018-2019: Early flight tests

In September 2018, a 260 kW (350 hp) electric motor with a propeller was tested on a Cessna iron bird.[12] magniX outlined plans to fly an electric Cessna 208 Caravan with a magniX motor.[13] Development for the test aircraft, dubbed the eCaravan, was carried out in Queensland in Australia and Washington state in the US.[7]

In April 2019, magniX was selected as the propulsion system provider for the Eviation Alice,[2] a nine-seat all electric airplane.[14] By this time, magniX had accumulated over 1,500 hours of ground tests in Redmond and Australia.[2]

In 2019, Harbour Air, a seaplane company based in Vancouver, Canada,[15] partnered with magniX on converting a DHC-2 Beaver to electric power,[16] with the end goal of electrifying its entire fleet.[17] The "eBeaver" completed its first test flight on December 10, 2019,[18] making a five-minute flight with the magni500 electric motor[16] using lithium-ion batteries.[19] This was hailed in the press as the first flight of an all-electric commercial aircraft.[15]

2020-2021: Cessna flight and NASA

The first flight of a modified Cessna 208B Grand Caravan with magniX motors was completed at Grant County International Airport on May 28, 2020.[20] In the first flight of the world's largest all-electric aircraft,[6] the magni500-powered variant could fly 160 km (100 mi) with 4-5 passengers while keeping reserve power.[21] In December 2020, CEO was Roei Ganzarski.[22]

In January 2021,[23] magniX consolidated its Redmond headquarters and research center in Australia with one new facility. A 44,000 square-foot building near Paine Field in Everett began serving as its headquarters and facility for design, engineering and manufacturing.[4] Also in 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued magniX special conditions for electric engine airworthiness, allowing its EPUs to undergo FAA testing protocols.[24] That year, magniX signed a deal with Tier 1 Engineering to supply EPUs for medical helicopters.[25]

NASA awarded magniX a US$74.3 million contract in 2021 under its Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration program[26] to research electrified aircraft propulsion.[27] The program focused on electrifying a De Havilland Dash 7. magniX later conducted simulated altitude testing at the NASA Electric Aircraft Testbed facility in Ohio in April 2024.[28]

2022-2026: Further flights

In 2021, magniX released two new EPUs[29] (electric propulsion units),[30] the magni350 and magni650. The EPUs were named among the Best Inventions of 2022 by TIME.[31] Two magniX EPUs were used to power the September 2022 initial test flight of the Eviation Alice.[32] magniX motors were also tested in a helicopter for the first time in 2022.[8] That June, a Robinson R44 with a magniX EPU completed a three-minute flight at Los Alamitos Army Airfield.[33]

In 2024 and 2025, magniX introduced new products. In early 2024, magniX launched its Samson batteries[34] with 300 Wh/kg. This was increased to 400 Wh/kg at the cell level in June 2025.[35] magniX powered the first flight of a hydrogen-electric R44 in March 2025, in what was also the world's first piloted flight by a hydrogen-electric helicopter.[36] magniX launched its HeliStorm engines for helicopters and rotorcraft in March 2025.[37] At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in July 2025, magniX and Robinson Helicopters announced an agreement to jointly develop a battery-electric powertrain for the R66 helicopter.[38] In November 2025, Samson batteries were chosen by Bye Aerospace to power its eFlyer 2 training aircraft.[39]

Products

  • magni350 - electric engine[40] for fixed-wing (eCTOL) aircraft[41]
  • magni650 - electric engine for fixed-wing (eCTOL) aircraft[41]
  • HeliStorm - electric engine for helicopters and hybrids[41]
  • magniDrive - power electronics[41]
  • PDX800 - power distribution unit[41]
  • Samson300 - modular battery[42]

Customers and partners

Company Product Airplane/Helicopter(s) Notes
Harbour Air[43] magni650 de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver First flight: 2019 (with a magni500)[16]
Tier 1 Engineering[25] magni350 Robinson R44 First flight: 2022[8]
Eviation Aircraft[14] magni650 Eviation Alice First flight: September 27, 2022
Universal Hydrogen[44] magni650 Dash 8 First flight: March 2, 2023[44]
NASA magni650 Dash 7
Blade Urban[45] TBA Cessna 208 Caravan
Flapper Tecnologia[46] magni650 Cessna 208 Caravan
Desaer & CEiiA[47] magni350 Desaer ATL-100H
Robinson Helicopters[38]   HeliStorm   Robinson R66  
AeroTec magni500 Cessna 208B Grand Caravan First Flight: 2020[20]
Unither Biolectronique magni350 Robinson R44 (hydrogen-electric) First Flight: March 2025[48]
 Bye Aerospace[39]   Samson batteries   eFlyer 2  

See also

References

  1. ^ "Powering Electric Airplanes with magniX". YouTube. October 27, 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Jon Hemmerdinger (22 Apr 2019). "MagniX to supply Eviation Alice motors as all-electric advances". Flightglobal.
  3. ^ 2026, About us, Magnix
  4. ^ a b 2021, Electric aircraft developer magniX moves HQ to Everett, Herald (Everett, Washington)
  5. ^ November 28, 2023, Uncommon Thinkers: MagniX CTO Riona Armesmith geeks out over electric aviation, GeekWire
  6. ^ a b May 28, 2020, Largest all-electric aircraft to make maiden flight, CNN
  7. ^ a b c August 6, 2020, Company founded in Aussie on brink of aviation breakthrough, Australian Times
  8. ^ a b c d e 2025, Our Story, magnix.aero
  9. ^ a b January 9, 2019, Aussie start up pushing switch to electric passenger planes, The Sydney Morning Herald
  10. ^ Michael Bruno (Jun 7, 2018). "MagniX Promises Electrically Powered Cessna Caravan By Summer 2019". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  11. ^ June 28, 2018, Developer of electric motors for aircraft plans Redmond HQ and engineering shop, The Seattle Times
  12. ^ Alexa Rexroth (27 September 2018). "magniX Reaches Milestone on Path to Electric Propulsion". AIN online.
  13. ^ Graham Warwick (Sep 28, 2018). "MagniX Advances Electric Propulsion System Tests". Aviation Week & Space Technology.
  14. ^ a b "MagniX to supply Eviation Alice motors as all-electric advances".
  15. ^ a b December 10, 2019, This all-electric airplane is flying the first commercial test flight of its kind, Fast Company
  16. ^ a b c Richardson, Jake (24 October 2019). "750 Horsepower Electric Aviation Engine Tested By MagniX". cleantechnica.
  17. ^ Rytis Beresnevicius (3 April 2019). "Harbour Air set to become the first all-electric airline in the world". AeroTime Hub.
  18. ^ "Seaplane makes 'first' commercial electric flight". BBC. 2019-12-11.
  19. ^ Graham Warwick (13 December 2019). "Harbour Air And MagniX Claim First For Electric Aircraft". Aviation Week Network.
  20. ^ a b Gates, Dominic (28 May 2020). "Redmond startup powers all-electric first flight of a Cessna commuter plane". The Seattle Times.
  21. ^ Jon Hemmerdinger (29 May 2020). "All-electric Grand Caravan makes maiden flight". Flightglobal.
  22. ^ Balinski, Brent (2020-12-15). "The one that quietly got away?". Australian Manufacturing Forum. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  23. ^ O'Connor, Kate (21 January 2021). "magniX Moves To Everett". AVweb. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  24. ^ September 29, 2021, FAA Approves Special Conditions for Certifying Electric Propulsion Systems, AIN
  25. ^ a b "Tier 1 Engineering Selects magniX to Electrify Helicopters for the Clean Delivery of Organs" (Press release).
  26. ^ March 25, 2025, Real Potential, EVA
  27. ^ January 6, 2022, CEO of electric aircraft-engine company is stepping down, Herald Everett
  28. ^ June 18, 2024, NASA, MagniX Altitude Tests Lay Groundwork for Hybrid Electric Planes, NASA
  29. ^ June 17, 2021, Magnix rolls out two more-powerful electric propulsion systems, Flight Global
  30. ^ "What is Electric propulsion?". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2024-08-13.
  31. ^ 2022, Best Inventions of 2022, TIME
  32. ^ October 15, 2024, Eviation Quietly Prepares to Build Updated Alice Prototype, AIN
  33. ^ June 8, 2022, R44 Makes First Flight with MagniX Electric Propulsion, AIN
  34. ^ December 5, 2024, magniX achieves milestone in NASA test, Aerospace Manufacturing and Design
  35. ^ June 18, 2025, MagniX Offers Increased Energy Density Battery Cells, AIN
  36. ^ July 23, 2025, magniX and Robinson Helicopter Company to Develop Battery Electric R66 Helicopter Demonstrator, magniX
  37. ^ March 11, 2025, magniX launches engine line for electric helicopters, Aerospace Manufacturing and Design
  38. ^ a b July 23, 2025, Robinson Teams with MagniX To Develop Electric R66, AIN
  39. ^ a b October 29, 2025, Bye Aerospace picks magniX Samson batteries for eFlyer 2 prototype, Avi Trader
  40. ^ "Industry-Leading Products". MagniX.
  41. ^ a b c d e 2026, Powertrains, magnix.aero
  42. ^ 2026, Batteries, magniX
  43. ^ "Harbour Air flies 'first' all-electric commercial aircraft, a DHC-2 Beaver".
  44. ^ a b "'Pretty freakin' amazing': Pioneering Moses Lake flight uses hydrogen to power regional airplane". 2 March 2023.
  45. ^ "MagniX inks deal to retrofit seaplanes with electric motors for Blade flights around NYC and Hamptons". 27 May 2021.
  46. ^ "Flapper faz parceria com magniX para eletrificar a aviação na América Latina" (Press release).
  47. ^ "Desaer ATL-100H hybrid aircraft mixes electric motors with turboprops". 10 February 2022.
  48. ^ April 8, 2025, Unither Achieves First Hydrogen-powered Helicopter Flight, AIN
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