Letara raises ¥2.6bn (roughly $16mn) for hybrid rocket engines the law does not call explosive

Letara, a Hokkaido University spinout, has raised about ¥2.6bn, roughly $16mn, for hybrid rocket engines that use plastic as fuel and are not legally classified as explosives. Germany’s HyImpulse raised €45mn for the same approach last October. A Japanese startup has raised about $16mn to build rocket engines that burn plastic.