High-Flying Ambitions: VoltAero Bags €5.6M Grant

A significant boost for VoltAero’s innovative Cassio 330 electric-hybrid aircraft project comes in the form of a €5.6 million grant from the French government via BPI France, the agency tasked with fostering economic growth in France. This financial injection is part of the “France 2030” investment strategy, a plan aimed at sustainable transformation across key economic sectors, including aeronautics.

Jean Botti, VoltAero’s CEO and Chief Technical Officer, sees this grant as an “important vote of confidence in VoltAero and our vision to develop the unique family of Cassio electric-hybrid general aviation airplanes for safe, quiet, efficient, and eco-friendly flight.”

The funds contribute to the further development, certification, and production of the Cassio 330.

The Cassio 330 is the first of three models in VoltAero’s electric-hybrid aircraft family. These aircraft are marked by their high modularity, commonality, and aerodynamically optimized design.

The Cassio family is envisioned as a reliable and capable product line catering to regional commercial operators, Air Taxi/charter companies, private owners, and utility services like cargo transport, postal delivery, and medical evacuation.

What distinguishes the Cassio series is VoltAero’s patented electric-hybrid propulsion system. The Cassio aircraft utilize electric motors in an aft fuselage-mounted propulsion system for all-electric power during taxi, takeoff, primary flight (if under 150 km), and landing.

The hybrid feature, an internal combustion engine, serves as a range extender, recharging batteries during flight, and as a backup, ensuring fail-safe functionality. Additionally, it offers the flexibility to use multiple fuels.

The inaugural model, the Cassio 330, sports a five-seat configuration powered by a 330-kilowatt electric-hybrid propulsion system. Successive models, the six-seat Cassio 480 and the twelve-seat Cassio 600, boast 480-kilowatt and 600-kilowatt propulsion power, respectively.

With VoltAero’s headquarters based in Royan-Médis, the final assembly of the Cassio aircraft will take place at a dedicated facility at the Rochefort Charente-Maritime Airport in France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.