HyLight Raises €13 Million for Hydrogen Airship Inspections

HyLight, a French startup that builds and operates autonomous hydrogen powered airships to inspect power lines, gas pipelines and railways, has raised €13 million from Rubio Impact Ventures, DRW and Teampact Ventures, joined by existing investors Y Combinator and Ring Capital, Tech.eu reports.

The 12 metre HyLighter flies for up to ten hours and carries up to 10 kg of sensors, including LiDAR, cameras and methane detectors. HyLight's software automatically identifies and geolocates more than 50 types of defects and vegetation risks across power grids, according to EU-Startups. Its aircraft already fly missions for Enedis, NaTran, Téréga, VINCI and SNCF Réseau.

The funding will support hiring 50 people across engineering, AI and data, operations, regulatory affairs and business development. HyLight is targeting up to 15 aircraft operating simultaneously in 2027, compared with four today, and plans to expand commercially across Europe next year, with Germany and the Netherlands as priority markets.