Universal Hydrogen, the pioneering company that flew a partially hydrogen-powered flight out of Moses Lake, Washington, in March last year, has burned through the $100 million it raised from investors and gone bust.

The company was one of a few aiming to replace fossil-fuel powered flight with more sustainable, emissions-free technology, in this case using hydrogen to power the engines instead of jet fuel.

Its achievement of a first flight at Moses Lake was celebrated by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee as one of Washington state’s clean energy breakthroughs.

In March, Fast Company magazine put Universal on its list of “Most innovative companies of 2024.” Last month, trade magazine Aviation Week reported that “behind the scenes, the zero-emissions startup is busy preparing to take propulsion-system testing to the next level” and was prepping 10 new flight tests.

But in a letter to shareholders Thursday, Universal Hydrogen Chairman and CEO Mark Cousin wrote that the board has formally decided to wind up the company after efforts to raise further financing from new investors failed.

“We were unable to secure sufficient equity or debt financing to continue operations and similarly were unable to secure an actionable offer for a sale of the business or similar strategic exit transaction,” Cousin wrote

He said the company recently approached existing investors to participate in a rights offering but found insufficient interest.

“We are deeply proud of the work the team has done to create the first commercially viable hydrogen aviation ecosystem,” Cousin’s letter concluded. “It is our sincere hope that these efforts will live on as part of a future entity.”

Barriers to success

Universal Hydrogen was founded by Paul Eremenko, a clean-energy visionary who formerly worked as chief technology officer at Airbus, on the basis of his belief that climate change concerns create an existential crisis for air transport in the decades ahead.

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