On 7 Februray 2025 Airbus confirmed that its plans to bring hydrogen-powered airliners into commercial service will not be achieved by the 2035 target date because the work is taking longer than expected.
Airbus told officials at the Force Ouvrière trade union that the objective could take five to 10 years longer than first anticipated. The union also claimed that the ZeroE research and development budget has been cut by 25%. However, according to news report, a spokesperson of Airbus said that the group remains committed to the goal “of bringing a commercially viable, hydrogen-powered aircraft to market.”
Airbus announced the ZeroE project in September 2020 with three design concepts of hydrogen airplanes.
Nuuva V300 cargo eVTOL of Pipistrel Made the first flight
On 31 January 2025 Pipistrel announced the successful first hover flight of the Nuuva V300, a long-range, large-capacity hybrid-electric VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) unmanned aircraft.
The Nuuva V300 is designed to carry a 600-pound payload over a range of up to 300 nautical miles and is capable of operating from paved or unimproved surfaces. The aircraft is engineered to load cargo through the nose of the fuselage, simplifying the process for operators and allowing for multiple payload configurations. Built to support a capacity of more than 100 cubic feet, it can hold up to three cargo pallets or be loaded with loose cargo, enhancing its utility for a variety of logistics needs.
The aircraft, which is equipped with automatic Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight capabilities, will transition from vertical to forward flight on its wings and follow the most recent flight plan until landing. The first air vehicle is powered by a fly-by-wire, triple-redundant flight control system supplied by Honeywell.
To support the continued expansion of the aircraft’s flight envelope, a second Nuuva V300 air vehicle will also join the flight program in 2025. This addition will further enhance the aircraft’s performance and ensure it meets the highest standards of safety and reliability.
Safran ENGINeUS 100 electric motor obtained EASA certification
The ENGINeUS 100 electric motor of Safran Electrical & Power was awarded by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) with certification.
The motor obtained certification after a campaign involving 1,500 hours of motor certification tests and more than 100 flight hours on an aircraft in real-world conditions. It is the result of four years of collaboration with EASA to define the specific airworthiness rules for electric propulsion and design the right methods to properly assess and certify it.
The ENGINeUS 100 electric motor design includes power and control electronics directly integrated into the motor. It can be easily integrated into all propulsion architectures, thanks to its compactness, lightness and its air cooling system. It delivers maximum power of 125 kW, with an unrivalled weight-to-power ratio of 5 kW/kg.
Safran Electrical & Power is preparing to mass-produce the ENGINeUS range with the creation of four semi-automated production lines in 2026 in Niort (France) and Pitstone (UK), enabling production of more than 1,000 electric motors per year, with capacity to increase production.
The ENGINeUS electric motor is designed to meet the varying requirements of the new mobility market thanks to its inherent ability to integrate into multiple architectures: from 100% electric propulsion for small two to four passengers aircraft, to distributed hybrid-electric propulsion for 19-passenger small regional transport aircraft, right up to the electric hybridization of future generations of commercial aircraft engines, capable of carrying 150 passengers. Many planemakers operating in new air mobility have already opted for Safran’s ENGINeUS motor range or GENeUS motor-generators: AURA AERO, Bye Aerospace, CAE, Diamond Aircraft, Electra, TCab Tech, and VoltAero. The certification of the ENGINeUS 100 is a major milestone towards the production and market launch of the first aircraft.
CAAC issued production certificate to V2000CG cargo drone eVTOL of Autoflight
On December 24, 2024, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Eastern China Regional Office issued the Production Certificate (PC) for the V2000CG cargo drone eVTOL to Autoflight making it the world’s first large eVTOL ready for commercial operation. In March 2024, V2000CG obtained the Type Certificate (TC), which was the world’s first type certificate for a large eVTOL at the time.
V2000CG has a maximum takeoff weight of 2 tons, is purely electric-powered, unmanned, and has a carrying capacity equivalent to that of a small helicopter. It will be used for logistics, disaster relief, and emergency rescue. Targeted customers include logistics companies, emergency rescue service providers, and government departments. The passenger-carrying model of V2000CG is currently under certification of CAAC.
This is not only an important milestone for the V2000CG eVTOL to enter the mass production stage, but also marks a solid step for the low altitude economy that the Chinese government has been promoting since last year.
The World’s First Part 23 Certified Electric Airplane Is Here!
On 29 December 2024 CAAC, the Chinese regulator, issued the type certification under Part 23 normal category to RX4E electric airplane, making it the world’s first Part 23 certified electric aircraft and the world’s first type certified four-seat electric aircraft.
RX4E is developed by Liaoning Ruixiang General Aircraft Co.Ltd in Shenyang city, China. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 1260kg, 1.5hr duration, 300km range, 70kwh battery (about the capacity of a Tesla) and 140kw electric motor. The prototype first flew in October 2019 and applied for CAAC Part 23 certification in November 2019.
RX4E is evolved from RX1E, a two-seat light sport airplane (LSA). When RX1E was certified under LSA category by CAAC in 2015, it became the world’s first certified electric airplane.
Besides RX4E, there are several other Part 23 full electric airplane projects undergoing certification or to begin the certification including the two-seat Bristell Energic developed by H55 in Switzerland and Bristell airplane in Czech Republic, the two-seat Electric Flyer in developed by Bye Aerospace in the US, the 11-seat twin-motor Alice developed by Eviation in the US , the twin-motor NOEMI electric amphibian developed by Elfly in Norway, the 11-seat Vaerdion in Germany and the two-seat Integral E aerobatic electric airplane developed by Auro Aero in France. There are also several Part 23 hybrid electric airplane projects undergoing certification including 30-seat twin-motor ES30 developed by Heart Aerospace and the three-motor Cassio 330 developed by VoltAero in France.
Volocopter filed for insolvency
The German eVTOL start-up Volocopter GmbH filed for insolvency proceedings on 26 December citing its inability to raise new funds to maintain regular operations.
The company plans to continue business operations during the insolvency proceedings while seeking additional funding. The 500 employees‘ jobs are at stake.
Founded in 2011, Volocopter is one of the first eVTOL program in the world and set the world record as the first manned eVTOL leaving ground in 2010 with the first demonstrator. VoloCity, the two-seat multirotor eVTOL of Volocopter, is currently undergoing EASA certification.
Over the years Volocopter has received investment from many high-profile companies from various domains including Mercedes, Intel, Honeywell, Geely, Neom and so on. It is reported that Geely, the current major shareholder of Volocopter, has been in discussion with Volocopter for acquisition.
Highlight at 2024 Zhuhai Airshow
As the policy-driven “low-altitude economy” (LAE) in China, which could be interpreted as the Chinese version of the advanced air mobility (AAM) for easy understanding, is gaining popularity, it is no surprise that there was a hall dedicated to LAE at the 2024 Zhuhai Airshow, and the hall as well as the ramp display area were full of eVTOL models, electric airplanes and large size cargo drones. Here are some of the showcases. Come back often for more follow-up details about the aircraft shown here and more.
A large STOL cargo drone with hybrid-powered distributed electric propulsion for extreme STOL performance and ton-level useful load
The modular flying car of HTAero of Xpeng Auto made the manned demo flight at the show.
the obsession with the Pop.Up conceptual modular flying car design initiated by Airbus and Audi is as obvious as shown at Zhuhai Airshow
large fixed wing cargo drone is gaining popularity in China…
…even the gyroplane is joining the cargo drone hype.
fortunately there’s still „classic“ electric airplane for pilots
eVTOL dominates the hall.
there seems to be just not to have enough eVTOL in full-size or sub-scale models to show the developer’s ambition.
then there are more traditional VTOL designs with conventional turbine power or hybrid electric power.
Rolls-Royce Electrical Terminating Operation
Rolls-Royce Electrical sent out the message to relevant parties and project partners last week that it is terminating advanced air mobility (AAM) operation in short run. This news came after the announcement last November that the company was seeking potential buyers so obviously the sale attempt did not succeed.
Rolls-Royce originally set up Rolls-Royce Electrical in 2018 as part of an internal innovation hub dedicated to electric propulsion. The company took over the eAviation business of Siemens in 2019 and has been a leading force in electric aviation since then. In 2022 Rolls-Royce Electrical was spun out as an individual business.
Over the years Rolls-Royce Electrical has set many world records and industry milestones such as the all-electric ‘Spirit of Innovation’ aircraft testbed clocked up a maximum top speed of 623km/h in 2021 making it the world’s fastest all-electric vehicle, the H3PS hybrid electric airplane prototype based on a Tecnam P2010 in 2021.
The company’s main products include several transverse flux, air-cooled electric propulsion units covering the 150-200kW range for urban air mobility vehicles and a larger 300-400kW motor for regional platforms and a turbogenerator.
Volocopter flies during Olympics in Paris – but other than planned.
Originally Volocopter wanted to fly passengers during the Olympics in Paris with its new roomy VoloCity from a Vertiport at the airfield Pontoise to a platform in the Seine river in Paris. But as the certification with EASA of the VoloCity is still not finished and also there was some political issues in the Paris City Government. So in the end they did flew with a repainted old Volocopter V2x with the German ultralight registration from a Vertiport at Aerodrome of Saint-Cyr-l’École. Dirk Hoke from Volocopter and Edward Arkwright from the ADP group who ownes the Paris airports still celebrates this flight as „ValidationeVTOL Operations in Paris.
CATL invest in „several hundreds of millions USD“ in Autoflight
On August 3, CATL, the largerst battery manufacturer in the world, signed a strategic investment and cooperation agreement with Autoflight in which CATL exclusively invested hundreds of millions of dollars to become a strategic investor of Autoflight. Mr. Tian Yu, CATL and the existing investor of Autoflight Team Global will work together to support the development of Autoflight.
Zeng Yuqun, Chairman and CEO of CATL, and Tian Yu, Chairman and CEO of Autoflight, attended and witnessed the signing.
CATL’s exclusive strategic investment in Autoflight reflects a high recognition of Autoflight’s core competitiveness and long-term development potential in the field of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL). CATL has the world’s leading battery technology and innovation capabilities, and occupies a leading position among the world’s new energy battery suppliers, and its deep R&D strength, strong industrial foundation and strong industrial chain cluster advantages will help Autoflight to make greater breakthroughs in the field of eVTOL. The two parties will combine their respective resources and technological advantages to focus on improving the energy density and performance of eVTOL batteries, supporting eVTOL longer flight range and higher payload, while also ushering in more significant improvements in safety and stability. Through the in-depth cooperation with CATL, Autoflight can not only accelerate the development and application of eVTOL battery technology, but also lead the overall technical capability of eVTOL aircraft to a new height.
Autoflight is currently undergoing CAAC, the Chinese regulator’s certification process for its „Prosperity“ eVTOL. Autoflight has received the type certification from CAAC for the cargo model, V2000CG, of this aircraft in March 2024.
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