FARNBOROUGH, U.K. - VoltAero in Medis, France, and Scandinavia's Sigma Air Mobility have agreed to explore advanced air mobility solutions using VoltAero’s Cassio electric-hybrid aircraft. The collaboration includes a potential route demonstration pilot project and the identification of services for Cassio in its air ambulance version.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was announced at the 2024 Farnborough International Airshow. VoltAero’s Cassio airplane family, featuring a unique parallel electric-hybrid propulsion system, will be combined with Sigma Air Mobility’s expertise as a network operator.
The MoU also includes the development of industry technical standards for airport recharging infrastructures and related technologies, as well as potential collaboration on operating models, economics, and decarbonization trends.
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“This perfectly-timed agreement enables VoltAero and Sigma Air Mobility to focus on realistic regional air mobility solutions with the Cassio aircraft and its parallel electric-hybrid propulsion system,” said Jean Botti, VoltAero’s CEO & Chief Technology Officer. “It comes at a time when the aviation industry and transportation sectors are increasingly skeptical about all-electric solutions that raise more questions than answers for the future of air mobility.”
Christophe Lapierre, the CEO of Sigma Air Mobility, added: “The MoU aligns our two companies’ extensive aviation expertise on a pragmatic and tangible path to market, validating Cassio operations and its infrastructure and ecosystem with a very local and streamlined pilot project.”
Lapierre highlighted the significant market opportunity for regional air mobility in the 300-plus kilometer range, noting that electric-hybrid conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) aircraft can more easily leverage existing infrastructure. Cassio’s fixed-wing design with its dual propulsion system provides a simplified path to certification.
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VoltAero’s Cassio electric-hybrid aircraft family is designed for regional commercial operators, air taxi/charter companies, private owners, and utility-category services such as cargo, postal delivery, and medical evacuation. The Cassio line will include the five-seat Cassio 330, the six-seat Cassio 480, and the 10-12-seat Cassio 600.
The Cassio aircraft will utilize the ENGINeUS 100 electric motor for all-electric power during taxi, takeoff, primary flight (for distances less than 150 km), and landing. The hybrid feature with the internal combustion engine acts as a range extender, recharging the batteries during flight and serving as a backup to ensure fail-safe functionality.
VoltAero will assemble the Cassio aircraft at a new facility at Rochefort Charente-Maritime Airport in France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, to be completed this August.
