MagniX

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]