Hybrid Electric King Air Retrofits on the Horizon

Dovetail Electric Aviation and Zeusch Aviation are collaborating to develop hybrid-electric retrofits for the Beechcraft King Air, a highly versatile and widely utilised twin turboprop in both commercial and special-mission aviation sectors.

The agreement, formalised at the Paris Air Show 2025, establishes a strategic partnership to evaluate the technical and commercial feasibility of converting a portion of Zeusch's King Air fleet using Dovetail's proprietary battery and electric propulsion technologies. These technologies will be integrated with a turbogenerator serving as a range extender. The objective is to facilitate longer-range flights while reducing emissions and lowering operating costs for passengers and other stakeholders. Additionally, this initiative aims to support mission-critical operations, including medical flights, aerial mapping, surveillance, and other specialised missions.

Under the terms of the partnership, Dovetail will focus on integrating its aviation battery system (DovePack™) and Electric Propulsion System (DovePower), along with range-extending turbogenerators, into the King Air platform, tailored to meet Zeusch's specifications. The hybrid-electric configuration being developed is based on a series architecture, which enables adaptable mission performance and significantly enhances sustainability metrics, including achieving a notably low noise profile.

The DovePack™ and DovePower combination should reduce the carbon footprint by up to 40% compared to the current turbine engines. Additionally, the noise footprint under full electric power is expected to be up to 30% lower.

David Doral, Dovetail Electric Aviation’s CEO, stated: “Our electric drivetrain, including our highly innovative battery technology (DovePack™) and proprietary electric propulsion system (DovePower), has the potential to deliver the range required for many conventional missions while achieving superior economics with additional benefits. The ability to operate in only electric mode will be a key differentiator for some special missions where a low noise profile is a critical element. Zeusch’s input and collaboration will help us optimise the platform for multiple real-life missions”.

Under this agreement, Zeusch could become one of the first operators globally to adopt certified hybrid-electric King Air conversions. Danny van Ieperen, Zeusch Aviation’s Technical Director, stated: “Zeusch Aviation mainly operates missions that are for the common good, like transplant, medical repatriation, survey, and television broadcasting flights. It is our ambition to do this as environmentally friendly as possible. Dovetail Electric Aviation’s ambition to install a hybrid-electric power source on our King Air aircraft fits this ambition.”

This announcement contributes to Dovetail's expanding portfolio of strategic partnerships and prospective adopters, focused on expediting the certification and commercialisation of electric propulsion systems for regional aviation.