A new hybrid electric VTOL aircraft will take to the skies next year.
The design for this particular vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft was revealed in 2021.
After three years in the making, Ascendance Flight Technologies’ VTOL will be airborne in 2024.
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When it does, the hybrid electric VTOL aircraft will be used for a variety of medium range uses.
These include passenger transport, medical, logistics, and surveillance applications.
But the French start-up’s solutions aim to extend beyond a singular vehicle to the wider aviation market.
It plans to do this using hybrid propulsion in order to decarbonize aviation.
The company has some incredibly intelligent people behind the scenes.
Founded in 2018 by Jean-Christophe Lambert, his team includes three colleagues who all worked on Airbus’ E-Fan project.
Just to bring you up to speed, that was a 100% electric aircraft that first crossed the Channel from France to the U.K. in 2015.
ATEA is Ascendance Flight Technologies’ quiet and low-carbon hybrid electric VTOL aircraft.
Its design utilizes eight rotors built into its four wings – two rotors per wing – to aid it to reach a cruising speed of over 200 km/h (124 mph) and a range of 400 km (248 miles).
It cuts up to 80% of CO2 emissions compared to a traditional helicopter, for example, and noise emissions are reduced by a factor of four.
Following a 34 million euro investment, Ascendance Flight Technologies is powering ahead with its first prototype of ATEA.
Those who attended the recent Paris Air Show might’ve gotten a glimpse of ATEA, as the prototype was on display.
What’s more, post Air Show, Ascendance was revealed as a winner of France 2030’s call to produce low carbon aircraft in the country.
A share of 49.3 million euro investment further supports their mission to decarbonize air transport.
No doubt a share of the money will be used to get ATEA airborne by 2024.
