North Carolina Construction News staff writer
JetZero has broken ground on its first manufacturing and final assembly campus, an 8 million square foot factory on more than 600 acres in Greensboro. The project, supported by the largest ever State-level incentive package for any startup of any industry, will be home to production of JetZero’s next-generation aircraft and will create 14,500 jobs over the next 10 years.
Construction is set to begin immediately.
JetZero will make the Z4 in Greensboro. Designed for the unserved commercial middle market, with 250 passenger capacity on a range of up to 5,000 nautical miles, the Z4 will be up to 50 percent more fuel efficient with an elevated passenger experience and will readily fit into today’s airport infrastructure.
“It should come as no surprise that JetZero is breaking ground here in North Carolina – the first in flight state,” said Tom O’Leary, CEO and co-founder of JetZero. “North Carolina has a vision for its future as a global aerospace hub, and JetZero shares that vision. We believe the time has come for an all-wing airplane, to support the industry’s need for more efficient airplanes that also deliver an incredible experience. We intend to reshape aviation, from right here in North Carolina.”
The company is also designing military variants of the Z4, including an aerial refueler and transport aircraft. As a refueler, the all-wing design allows for twice the range or twice the payload to support U.S. air power.
JetZero’s Greensboro plant will be designed using advanced digital and AI native platforms developed in collaboration with Siemens and Deloitte. These platforms and tools allow engineers to build a complete digital twin of the factory before any concrete is poured — testing how machines, people, and materials will move through the building, and making changes on a screen rather than on a job site. That flexibility is rare in aerospace manufacturing and will make the Greensboro facility the most efficient and adaptable plant of its kind anywhere in the world.
“By pairing advanced AI and digital tools with our deep operational and industry experience, we’re helping JetZero set a new standard for manufacturing speed, quality, and scale,” Kelly Herod, chief client officer, Deloitte. “Our work with JetZero brings automation and AI together with data strategies informed by our experience at The Smart Factory by Deloitte @ Wichita, connecting design, the shop floor, and the workforce.”