VoltAero Selects French Site

Bids are currently being sought for the construction of an industrial site at France’s Rochefort - Charente Maritime Airport (LRH) in the nation’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Upon its completion, the new structure will serve as the assembly facility for VoltAero’s Cassio electric-hybrid aircraft family.

The construction project’s notification—as issued by the Syndicat Mixte des Aéroports de La Rochelle - Ile de Ré et Rochefort – Charente Maritime—greenlights the creation of a facility destined to house three Cassio aircraft final assembly lines, a workshop, a logistics area, and offices. VoltAero is expected to occupy the new facility in June 2024.

The proposed structure is slated to encompass a total area of 7,400 square-meters (24,280 square-feet). Management of the project has been entrusted to the Syndicat Mixte association. The prime contractor by which the new assembly facility will be erected is Rochefort-based SDArchitectes agency.

The structure’s €4.4-million (excluding tax) budget includes provisions for road access to the construction site, a ramp conducive to the short-term storage of assembled Cassio aircraft, and a taxiway by which subject ramp will connect to the Rochefort – Charente Maritime Airport’s 9,000-foot by 150-foot runway. The French government will contribute €665,000 as part of the nation’s National Fund for Territorial Planning and Development (FNADT). Discussions are currently underway with the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region and the Agglomeration Community of Rochefort-Océan for their financial support of the project.

The future presence of VoltAero at Rochefort – Charente Maritime Airport aligns with the Syndicat Mixte association’s strategy of salting France with aeronautical concerns committed to advancing the decarbonization of Europe’s aviation sector.

Gérard Pons, President of the Syndicat Mixte des Aéroports de La Rochelle-Ile de Ré et Rochefort – Charente Maritime, stated: "VoltAero’s presence constitutes a go-ahead for the development of aeronautical industrial activities at the airport. I hope that this first facility will lead to test and development projects from other innovative aeronautical players.”

VoltAero founder, CTO, and CEO Jean Botti set forth: “This is an important milestone in our development and represents one more step towards decarbonized aviation, which we will create together. We also are proud to contribute to the economic development of France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.”

VoltAero plans to build three iterations of its Cassio platform with occupant configurations ranging from five to a dozen seats. The aircraft, in addition to sharing high degrees of modularity and commonality, will provide regional airlines, air taxi and cargo operators, and private owners a capable and reliable product line from which to fashion their respective fleets.

Cassio’s hybrid propulsion scheme comprises a 241-horsepower, aft-fuselage-mounted electric drivetrain powering a single, two-meter (diameter) centerline-thrust pusher-propeller. The architecture’s electric system provides power during taxi, takeoff, primary flight, and landing. The hybrid feature—which consists of a 221-horsepower internal combustion engine—recharges the aircraft’s batteries while in-flight and serves as a backup in the event of electrical malfunction. 

VoltAero’s five-seat, 443-horsepower Cassio 330 is currently being evaluated for certification under Europe’s EASA CS23 specification. Certification of the model is expected to be granted by the end of 2024, with the first production aircraft assembled at VoltAero’s Rochefort – Charente Maritime Airport facility to be delivered in early 2025.

The Cassio 330 is a single-pilot, four-passenger, Short Take-off and Landing (STOL) aircraft, the numerical designation of which pertains to its combined hybrid-electric power-rating of 330-kilowatts. Certification of the Cassio 330 will be followed by the releases and certifications of the six-seat Cassio 480, with a combined electric-hybrid power output of (you guessed it) 480-kilowatts, and the 10-12-seat, Cassio 660, with a combined electric-hybrid power output of …

VoltAero’s design of the Cassio aircraft family is based on a sleek, aerodynamically-optimized fuselage, a forward canard, and an aft-set wing with twin-booms that support a high-set horizontal tail—after the fashion of a radically modernized Cessna 337 Skymaster, from which the Cassio borrows its aft-mounted propulsion system and pusher propeller.

VoltAero currently employs a workforce of 35 individuals. Completion of the new assembly facility will see the company move its operations to Rochefort – Charente Maritime Airport and add some thirty additional personnel to its employee roster. When production of Cassio family aircraft meets planned output, the LRH assembly facility will employ approximately 150 persons and contribute to the creation and sustainment of another 450 indirect jobs.

FMI: www.voltaero.aero