Dive Brief:
- JetZero has signed a letter of interest with the U.S. Export-Import Bank on Monday in an effort to obtain up to $3 billion for its $4.7 billion aerospace manufacturing campus in Greensboro, North Carolina.
- The LOI sets up a plan for JetZero and EXIM to evaluate ways to finance construction of the startup’s facilities, production systems and equipment, as well as “other eligible project costs,” according to the press release.
- The letter falls under EXIM’s Make More in America Initiative, a program that helps companies secure capital for its facilities, equipment and infrastructure in the United States. The strategy also aims to help U.S.-based manufacturers become more competitive worldwide.
Dive Insight:
The LOI comes nearly a month after the federal export credit agency expanded the MMIA program, which will now include financing for new equipment to support small- and medium-sized manufacturers in the U.S.
EXIM will offer borrowers guarantees of up to 90% on equipment loans and operating leases, according to the agency’s June 23 press release. The initiative will give small- and medium-size manufacturers access to private capital and lower borrowing costs, which EXIM Chairman John Jovanovic said will make it “easier for businesses to expand operations and compete globally.”
JetZero broke ground on its multibillion-dollar manufacturing and final assembly campus in June, which will span 8 million square feet and create 14,500 jobs over the next 10 years. The massive site will produce JetZero’s Z4 all-body aircraft model for the commercial middle market, with a 250-passenger capacity. The Z4 can fly up to 5,000 nautical miles nonstop as well as use 50% less fuel than large commercial planes, which can burn between 15,000 to 22,000 gallons for flights from the U.S. to Europe, Asia, or the Middle East.
The startup initially announced the Z4 manufacturing campus in June 2025, and the state’s Economic Investment Committee awarded JetZero over $1 billion through a job grant incentive program.
However, it encountered hiccups prior to its groundbreaking ceremony. In May, the company sent a letter to the state’s Commerce Department requesting to push up the grant timeline due to “delays in state budget funding which have affected the ability to start our construction,” the Carolina Journal reported. The agency approved JetZero’s request.
North Carolina lawmakers took more than a year to negotiate and pass the state budget, WRAL reported July 2. The budget standoff led to various issues, including placing construction projects such as JetZero’s manufacturing campus on hold, according to the Carolina Public Press.
Gov. Josh Stein signed the state’s fiscal year 2026-2027 budget into law on July 7, and the legislation included $133.9 million earmarked for JetZero’s upcoming campus. The funds may be allocated to “grading the land and preparing for construction,” JetZero spokesperson Jenny Dervin said in an email.
The company’s campus plans are “still on track” as it “looks forward” to moving its headquarters from California to Greensboro in early 2027, Dervin added.
