bluShift Aerospace

About the offering

bluShift Aerospace is a Brunswick, Maine-based aerospace company developing throttleable, non-explosive hybrid rocket engines designed to address the U.S. military's solid rocket motor supply chain shortage. The company is focused on defense and hypersonic testing applications, positioning its bio-derived fuel propulsion platform as a safer, lower-cost alternative to legacy solid rocket motor technology. The core product is the MAREVL hybrid rocket engine, which uses a non-toxic, bio-derived fuel that is non-explosive and storable for 10+ years, enabling deployment without expensive specialized infrastructure. The company claims a 50% cost reduction over legacy systems due to the elimination of explosive handling requirements, and its modular production cells cost under $15,000 compared to approximately $1.5 million for legacy manufacturing systems — a claimed 100x CapEx advantage. To date, bluShift has completed 275+ engine tests, demonstrated over 20,000 lbs of thrust, and conducted a successful suborbital prototype launch in 2021. The company has received $6.7 million in total private capital and non-dilutive funding from NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Space Force. On the defense side, bluShift has secured a propulsion subcontract vehicle with a U.S.-based hypersonics prime (identified as Specter Aerospace) supporting Missile Defense Agency (MDA) work. The contract includes base requirements and priced follow-on options that the company anticipates will exceed $3 million in total value upon exercise. The company is also building a pipeline of Tier 1–3 opportunities with the Air Force and NASA. bluShift has been selected by the Maine Technology Institute (MTI) for a $2 million patient loan (partly forgivable under certain conditions), which is contingent on completing the current fundraising round. This creates a capital leverage dynamic: investor funds unlock additional non-dilutive state capital. The current Wefunder raise has collected approximately $1.13 million toward a $1.64 million goal from 1,496 investors, with early bird terms still partially available. Use of funds is allocated as follows: 40% engine engineering and test infrastructure, 25% government and commercial business development and marketing, 13% working capital, 10% manufacturing and infrastructure, 6.9% crowdfunding platform fees, and 5.1% regulatory compliance. Near-term milestones include completing the next MAREVL engine build and test cycle, supporting hypersonic partner integration, advancing FAA commercial launch licensing, expanding manufacturing tooling, and beginning initial revenue operations. The longer-term roadmap extends to suborbital research and on-orbit satellite propulsion. The company is led by CEO Sascha Deri, a repeat founder who previously co-founded an online solar distribution and light manufacturing company that grew to over $35 million in sales. The CTO is David Hayrikyan, a BU engineer and former MACABItech founder. CFO Seabren Reeves brings two decades of financial engineering experience including Fortune 100 tech and fractional CFO roles. The company is based at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, which now hosts multiple aerospace companies and offers cost-effective manufacturing expansion potential.

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