H55 Delivers Certification-Grade Propulsion Battery Modules to Pratt & Whitney Canada, Supporting Demonstration of Hybrid-Electric Aircraft Technology

SION, Switzerland & MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 9, 2026--

H55 today announced the delivery of certification-grade propulsion battery modules to Pratt & Whitney Canada in support of the RTX Hybrid-Electric Flight Demonstrator — a milestone that further validates H55’s transition from technology development to industrial-scale execution and represents an important step in the commercialization of the company’s certification-grade energy storage technologies for hybrid-electric aerospace applications. Pratt & Whitney is an RTX business.

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The delivery represents more than hardware integration. It demonstrates H55’s ability to manufacture production-conforming propulsion systems within a regulator-approved environment and deploy them into active aircraft integration and flight-test programs — a capability achieved today by only a small number of companies globally.

As electric and hybrid-electric aviation moves beyond early-stage concepts toward certification and commercialization, aircraft manufacturers increasingly require partners capable of delivering not only technology innovation, but also industrial maturity, safety architecture and certification-ready production systems. For H55, the delivery of production-conforming modules into an active aerospace integration and flight-test program demonstrates the readiness of its technology, manufacturing capability and certification framework to support future commercial applications.

“Aircraft manufacturers today require more than battery technology,” said Sébastien Demont, H55 Co-Founder and CTO. “They require certification-grade safety architecture, industrialized manufacturing, operational reliability and scalable systems integration. Delivering production-conforming modules into the RTX Hybrid-Electric Flight Demonstrator validates H55’s ability to meet those requirements at an industrial scale and marks an important step in bringing our certification-grade energy storage technologies to a broader range of commercial aerospace applications. This achievement provides a strong foundation for what comes next across hybrid-electric aviation, defence, UAVs and next-generation aerospace platforms.”

H55’s proprietary battery architecture was specifically developed to meet the demanding certification and operational requirements of electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems. The company has accumulated more than 2,000 flight hours across multiple aircraft programs with zero battery-related incidents, creating an operational dataset and safety record that continue to strengthen its competitive position.

The company also became the first in the industry to complete regulator-required propulsion battery certification testing — a milestone now serving as a foundation for deliveries into active aerospace programs.

“Hybrid-electric propulsion represents an important pathway for improving fuel efficiency and performance for a wide range of future aircraft platforms,” said Jean Thomassin, executive director, New Product and Service Introduction, Pratt & Whitney Canada. “H55’s ability to deliver aviation-grade battery systems within a rigorous certification and production framework plays a crucial role in demonstrating hybrid-electric technology in flight.”

The milestone reinforces H55’s position as one of the few companies globally combining:

… which is accelerating the company’s transition toward commercialization and deployment across hybrid-electric aviation, defence applications, UAVs, and next-generation aerospace platforms, while reinforcing H55’s position as a supplier of certification-grade energy storage solutions for future commercial aerospace programs.

About H55

H55 is a Swiss-based company specializing in certified electric propulsion and certification-grade energy storage systems for aviation. The company enables electric aviation to scale by transforming commercial lithium cells into aviation-safe Energy Storage Systems that regulators approve, insurers underwrite, and OEMs can deploy repeatedly as a certified propulsion platform across aircraft programs. This is achieved through independent cell characterization, rigorous incoming screening, redundant safety architectures, and regulator-aligned testing designed around worst-case failure scenarios.

Founded as the technological legacy of the Solar Impulse program, H55 builds on more than two decades of hands-on electric aviation experience. The company has designed, built, and flown multiple electric aircraft and has accumulated more than 2,000 hours of fully electric flight with zero battery-related incidents—providing the operational depth required to execute certification-grade programs, not merely comply with them.

H55 benefits from a strong and experienced leadership team that combines deep expertise in scaling technology companies with hands-on operational execution. Together, these capabilities support a reliable transition from certified design to repeatable series manufacturing. H55’s platform-based approach, in which certification evidence compounds across programs, reduces adoption risk while facilitating the capital-efficient deployment of electric and hybrid-electric aircraft.

H55 Adagio Battery Modules in Pratt & Whitney Canada Hangar ©RTX

TORONTO (AP) — A new Canadian-built bridge across the Detroit River that U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to block will open soon, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Gordie Howe International Bridge, jointly owned by Canada and the U.S. state of Michigan, is set to take place on Friday, while the bridge itself is expected to open to traffic later this month.

In February, Trump demanded that Canada turn over at least half the ownership of the bridge to the U.S. federal government and agree to other unspecified demands in one of his many salvos over cross-border trade issues.

The bridge, which would connect Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, and would be a vital economic artery between Canada and the United States, had been expected to open early this year, according to information on the project’s website.

The bridge is named after Howe, the late Canadian hockey great who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

The project was negotiated by former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder — a Republican — and paid for by the Canadian government to help ease congestion over the existing Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been underway since 2018.

“Obviously the bridge will be open at the end of the week. A symbol of, but also a fact of cooperation between our countries,” Carney told reporters as he walked into Parliament.

“Great for Canadians going across the border, Americans coming across the border, and for commerce,” he said, calling it “positive news.”

Trump threatened the bridge as the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is up for review this year, and Trump has been taking a hard-line position before those talks, including by issuing new tariff threats.

Carney, meanwhile, has spoken out on the world stage against economic coercion by the United States.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, has said that the Canadian-funded project is a “huge boon” to her state and its economic future.

Michigan is a swing state that Trump carried in both 2016 and 2024.

Snyder wrote in an op-ed in The Detroit News earlier this year that Trump was wrong in asserting that Canada owns both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the Gordie Howe bridge.

“Canada and the state of Michigan are 50/50 owners of the new bridge,” Snyder wrote. “Canada was wonderful and financed the entire bridge. They will get repaid with interest from the tolls. Michigan and the United States got their half-ownership with no investment.”

The Gordie Howe bridge will join the privately owned Ambassador Bridge as the second span connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

The rival Ambassador Bridge is considered the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries. It plays an especially important role in auto manufacturing.

Companies controlled by the Moroun family, owners of the rival Ambassador Bridge, previously sued to prevent the Howe bridge from being built.

Prime Minister Mark Carney attends the Governor General Designate Louise Arbour installation in Ottawa on Monday, June 8, 2026. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press via AP)

FILE - The Gordie Howe Bridge is shown under construction between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

FILE - Canadian and American flags are shown on the Gordie Howe Bridge under construction between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)