Supersonic jet maker picks North Carolina for plant, lured by US$200m

[TEXAS] Boom Supersonic, a startup hoping to bring faster-than-sound speed back to commercial air travel, selected North Carolina for the site of its jet manufacturing facility.

The company said Wednesday (Jan 26) that it will build a factory for its Overture aircraft at the Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro. Boom will receive more than US$200 million in incentives through the state's job development investment grant programme, including money for new jobs and funds to support construction.

The 400,000-square-foot facility will bring more than 1,750 jobs to the area by 2030 and over 2,400 by 2032, Boom said. The company expects to spend more than US$500 million of its own money for the new site, founder and chief executive officer Blake Scholl said in a telephone interview.

The move bolsters the company as it looks to capitalise on interest from mainstream airlines including United Airlines Holdings and Japan Airlines, which have each invested in the startup. The Overture supersonic jet is designed to carry as many as 88 passengers at Mach 1.7 or roughly twice the speed of the current fastest passenger aircraft.

The company expects to "double or triple" its nearly 250-person workforce this year, Scholl said.

The first production model of Overture is expected to roll out in 2025 and carry passengers in 2029. Boom has been working with Rolls-Royce Holdings since 2015 to study engine designs, though no decisions on propulsion have been announced to date. Boom has said its engine will operate on 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel and have net-zero carbon emissions.

The company, which is based in Centennial, Colorado, considered "a handful of sites" nationwide that had bid for the factory, Scholl said. The company was drawn by the region's existing aerospace base, recruitment opportunities and nearby flight test areas over the Atlantic Ocean, he said.

"There were a lot of good options for us," Scholl said. "All things considered, North Carolina is the best." BLOOMBERG