New Delhi: SiriNor is an Indo-Norwegian aerospace and defence startup developing an emession-free electric jet engine. The jet-engine is designed to be
power-source agnostic, working on batteries today, but designed to be compatible with hydrogen or nuclear power sources in the future. The startup has developed a unique tip driven propulsion architecture, for which it has secured a global patent in USA. In 2025, the propulsion concept was validated with a successful ground test. In the short term, SiriNor is rolling out small engines for UAVs, with a retrofit test slotted for mid to late 2026, which will be conducted in India.
SiriNor has developed a pioneering propulsion system with a tip-driven architecture that uses distributed, edge-mounted motors instead of a central hub. This significantly reduces operating temperatures, simplifies the manufacturing processes, and reduces cost by at least 30 per cent. SiriNor aims to commercialise the UAV engine by the end of the year, and aims to scale up to commercial aviation platforms for regional aircraft by the mid 2030s. We spoke to a cofounder of SiriNor, Abhijeet Inamdar, to better understand the approach of the company to tackle the hard challenges that lie ahead.
Breakthroughs needed for commercial aircraft
When asked about the mission profiles that were viable today, Inamdar explained, “With today’s battery energy densities of roughly 300 Wh/kg, electric propulsion is viable for short-range, high-value missions where power density matters more than endurance. These include small to medium MALE UAVs used for ISR, mapping, border surveillance, and tactical logistics, typically achieving one to five hours of endurance depending on platform size. Electric trainers for flight schools are another practical application, supporting 30 to 90 minute sorties focused on pattern work. eVTOL and short-hop air mobility missions are feasible over 20 to 50 km for medevac or premium urban transport, though payload-range trade-offs remain tight. Ground-effect vehicles and seaplanes operating over coastal or island routes benefit from reduced aerodynamic drag, enabling ranges of 50 to 150 km.”
The best lithium-ion batteries in the world provide 40 to 50 times lower energy density than jet fuel in terms of mass. Energy density can also be measured in terms of volume. Lower energy density creates a compounding penalty in range or efficiency in aircraft. This is the area that the tech needs to improve on, and may require entire new battery techn0ologies. Inamdar says, “Scaling to larger aircraft requires improvements in energy density. Hybrid regional aircraft would need 400 to 600 Wh/kg, fully electric regional aircraft 600 to 800 Wh/kg, and narrow-body jets over 1,200 Wh/kg. Achieving this depends on advances such as solid-state lithium-metal or lithium-sulphur batteries, megawatt-class power electronics, advanced thermal management, and structural battery integration. SiriNor’s power-agnostic engine architecture allows it to scale with future energy systems as they mature.”
Make in India
The design of the SiriNor engine is well-suited for manufacturing in India. Inamdar says, “India is particularly well positioned to support electric propulsion manufacturing, often more so than traditional combustion-based aerospace systems. Strong domestic capabilities already exist in precision-machined structures and casings, composite ducts and nacelles, electric motor manufacturing, power electronics assembly, wiring harnesses, and control systems. India also has depth in software development, enabling FADEC-equivalent digital control electronics, along with growing expertise in additive manufacturing for structural aerospace parts. Some areas are still developing, notably high-performance magnetic materials and aviation-grade inverters and high-voltage systems. However, these gaps are considered more accessible than the metallurgical challenges associated with conventional jet engines.”
The simplified manufacturing allows SiriNor to source components needed from India. Inamdar explains, “A major strategic advantage of electric propulsion is the absence of critical combustion-related components. Electric engines do not require single-crystal turbine blades, nickel-based superalloy hot sections, or complex combustion chambers. This fundamentally shifts propulsion from a metallurgy-intensive bottleneck to an electromechanical manufacturing model, which aligns far better with India’s existing industrial strengths and supply-chain maturity.”
Avoiding becoming a UAV-only technology company
If SiriNor is successful in making UAV engines. There are companies that set out to scale to electric propulsion for regional aircraft, but have pivoted to making drones. A number of companies that set out to build electric propulsion systems for aircraft, flying taxis or Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVOTL) aircraft for passengers have pivoted to cargo drone deliveries. When asked about SiriNor’s gameplan to avoid becoming a UAV-only tech company, Inamdar says, “SiriNor views UAVs as an entry market rather than a long-term ceiling. The company’s strategy is built around architectural scalability, ensuring that the same core propulsion architecture can be extended across multiple aircraft categories without redesigning the engine for each segment.”
SiriNor has a plan to avoid getting stuck in a rut that prevents commercialisation of the tech, and has a game plan laid out. Inamdar says, “The first step focuses on UAVs, which offer the fastest route to certification, early revenues, and operational data. These platforms help establish a real-world reliability database and accelerate learning cycles. The second step expands into ground-effect vehicles and seaplanes, which require larger thrust classes and introduce crewed operations, enabling experience with higher safety and operational standards.”
SiriNor eventually plans to scale to commercial regional aircraft. Inamdar says, “The final step targets regional aircraft, where the same propulsion architecture is scaled up using insights gained from earlier phases. Certification knowledge, supply-chain relationships, and performance data accumulated through UAVs and GEVs directly feed into this transition. This phased progression allows SiriNor to systematically expand its addressable market while avoiding technological or regulatory dead ends, ensuring the company evolves into a full-spectrum electric propulsion provider rather than remaining confined to UAV applications.”
Navigating Certifications
In aviation, certifications are approvals issued by regulatory organisations, confirming that aircrafts, engines, their components all meet safety, performance, environmental and operational standards. SiriNor plans to approach the certification in phases. Inamdar says, “SiriNor is adopting a phased certification strategy that balances regulatory realism with technological ambition. The first phase focuses on UAV experimental platforms, where regulatory barriers are lower and military or special-mission pathways enable faster operational validation. This allows SiriNor to gather real-world performance and reliability data while advancing technology readiness levels. The second phase expands into special-category and utility aircraft such as ground-effect vehicles and seaplanes. These platforms often fall under evolving or parallel regulatory frameworks, including maritime-linked standards, creating room for early engagement with authorities like the DGCA to shape compliance methodologies.”
SiriNor will have to work with the regulatory authorities to develop the procedures for the certification itself, considering that they are developing an entirely new type of engine that has not been used in commercial aviation. Inamdar explains, “The final phase targets civil aircraft certification, aligning with established EASA and FAA principles such as Part 33 for engines and Part 23 or 25 for aircraft. Given the absence of historical certification precedent for electric jet engines, key challenges include defining failure modes, managing thermal runaway risks, and addressing electromagnetic effects. SiriNor mitigates these challenges through early regulator engagement, modular subsystem testing, and certification-by-analysis approaches supported by digital twins. Experience gained in UAV and GEV programs helps de-risk later civil certification.”
Handling Scaling Bottlenecks
When asked about the anticipated challenges for scaling the tech, Inamdar says, “Scaling electric propulsion from UAVs to aircraft introduces challenges across technical, certification, industrial, and energy-system dimensions. Technically, higher continuous power levels demand more advanced thermal management, while megawatt-scale power electronics must achieve high efficiency and reliability. Structural integration also becomes more complex as propulsion units grow in diameter and load-bearing requirements.”
Aircraft for humans have more exacting safety requirements, which is also something that SiriNor will have to navigate. Inamdar says, “From a certification standpoint, civil aircraft face far stricter safety requirements than UAVs. These include containment standards, lightning and bird-strike resilience, and rigorous failure-mode analysis. Industrially, companies must transition from prototype builds to aerospace-grade production, requiring quality systems such as AS9100, full traceability, and demonstrated reliability growth.”
The power sources remain the biggest bottleneck. Inamdar says, “Energy systems remain a critical dependency, as aircraft-scale electrification relies on the maturity of batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. Despite these bottlenecks, electric propulsion remains fundamentally scalable. Unlike combustion engines, it does not require new metallurgy, follows predictable motor and power-electronics scaling laws, and benefits from rapid advances in adjacent sectors such as electric vehicles, grid infrastructure, and defence electrification.”
A viable roadmap towards decarbonised mobility
SiriNor has chalked out a deliberate phased roll-out, scaling from UAV commercialisation to in-flight demonstrations and crewed operations. On the way, SiriNor plans to accumulate critical data and refine its technologies under real-world conditions. This methodical progression positions it favourably to navigate the formidable hurdles of certification, safety and technology maturation. The design being agnostic to the power source allows SiriNor to work around today’s limitations while engineering the pathway to aviation free of fossil fuels in the future. SiriNor has rapidly established itself as a foundational player in the era of clean aerospace.
