Utilities still inspect thousands of kilometers of power lines the old-fashioned way: by flying helicopters low over the grid. French startup HyLight thinks that is long overdue for an upgrade, and investors just gave it €13 million, roughly $15 million, to prove it.

Rubio Impact Ventures backed the round alongside DRW, Teampact Ventures, Y Combinator and Ring Capital, according to Tech Funding News. The deal brings HyLight's total funding to about €16.7 million, following a €3.7 million seed round in April 2024.

Meet the HyLighter

HyLight was founded in 2021 by Martin Bocken, now its 28-year-old CEO, and Théo Hoenen, who has since left the company. It went through Y Combinator's summer 2023 batch.

Its product is the HyLighter, a 12-meter autonomous airship that inspects infrastructure from about 25 meters up. Helium provides lift, while a hydrogen fuel cell powers its electric motors. The craft carries up to 10 kilograms of sensors, including LiDAR, cameras and methane detectors.

HyLight says the airship captures imagery at 1 millimeter per pixel and more than 1,000 laser points per square meter. Its software flags vegetation risks and more than 50 types of grid defects, then delivers concise reports instead of piles of raw images. The aircraft is certified for European operations and permitted to fly beyond visual line of sight over infrastructure.

"No one else has 10 hours of flight time, 350 kilometres of range, and 10 kilograms of payload," Bocken said.

Real Customers, Real Kilometers

HyLight already works with Enedis on power lines, SNCF Réseau on railways, and NaTran and Téréga on pipelines. The company has logged more than 750 flight hours.

Enedis plans 15,570 kilometers of airship inspections in 2026, compared with 120,000 kilometers by helicopter. That is a small share, but it gives HyLight a large anchor customer to grow into.

The environmental pitch is simple. Bocken says a helicopter produces about one ton of CO2 for every hour it flies. Helmer Schukken, managing partner at Rubio Impact Ventures, called helicopter inspection "expensive, unsafe, polluting," and described HyLight as a clean, scalable alternative.

Where the Money Goes

HyLight plans to expand its fleet, hire 50 people and build out its data platform. It currently operates four aircraft and plans up to 15. European expansion will start with Germany and the Netherlands, alongside investment in AI and automation. The team stands at 42 people.

The Competitive Picture

Bocken argues HyLight has no direct competitors, only helicopters. Still, the inspection market is attracting capital. Finland's Kelluu raised €15 million for hydrogen airships earlier this year, and drone inspection companies continue to raise across Europe.

The real question is whether utilities will sign enough long-term contracts to keep a 15-aircraft fleet busy. If they do, HyLight could become a model for how climate tech replaces legacy infrastructure services without asking customers to sacrifice performance.

Source

Tech Funding News — "French HyLight raises €13M to replace polluting inspection helicopters with hydrogen airships"