[6][7] Eviation teamed up with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to launch a research and development program in the spring of 2019 at its Prescott, Arizona campus.

[8] By early 2019, Eviation had secured $200 million of investment to cover certification and production while the first prototype was assembled in Vannes, northwest France.

[20] On 18 May 2020, GKN Aerospace announced their partnership with Eviation on the design and manufacture of the wing, empennage and electrical wiring interconnection system of subsequent Alice airframes.

[21] By December 2020, Eviation expected to fly a modified Alice design in 2021, with the wing-tip motors relocated, before certification in the second half of 2023.

[22] In July 2021, Eviation unveiled the updated configuration with a T-tail and two 850 hp (634 kW) Magni650 electric powerplants on each side of the aft fuselage, aiming for a first flight the same year.

[24] In June 2022, it was announced that the prototype Alice was being moved to Grant County International Airport in Moses Lake, Washington, where first flight was hoped to occur by the summer of 2022.

[27] As no other flights followed the eight-minute September 2022 sortie, in April 2024 Eviation updated the Alice configuration to a constant cross-section tubular fuselage, large winglets, higher propeller pylons, and a larger central energy storage compartment above the wing following the completion of a conceptual design review alongside TLG Aerospace.

[31] With 260 Wh/kg cells, the 900 kWh battery capacity (3,460 kg, 7,630 lb) is initially estimated to give the design a range of 540–650 nmi (1,000–1,200 km) at 240 knots and 10,000 ft (3,048 m).

[6] Based on U.S. industrial electricity prices, the direct operating cost with nine passengers and two crew, flying at 240 kn (440 km/h), is claimed to be $200 per hour, which compares to $600–1,000 per hour for existing aircraft of similar purchase price such as the Cessna 402s, Pilatus PC-12 and Beechcraft King Air, for operations on routes under 500 nmi (930 km).

[6][9] 45% of air routes fall within its 565 nmi (1,050 km) range at 260 kn (482 km/h), or 55% of airline flights according to Flightglobal's Cirium data.

[29] The first potential customers for the Alice was Cape Air, a regional airline serving the Northeastern United States as well as the Caribbean.