Toulouse, France-based aircraft developer Aura Aero has a letter of intent signed by Dublin-headquartered aircraft leasing company and asset manager Amedeo for the purchase of 200 of its 19 seat electric regional ERA aircraft. Speaking of the strategic partnership, Aura Aero co-founder and president Jérémy Caussade says: “Amedeo’s expertise in structured finance solutions across multiple asset classes is instrumental to where we are taking Aura Aero and we look forward to our close collaboration going forward. We are pleased, thanks to our expertise and industrial capability, to build up the future of aeronautics.”

ERA is a clean sheet design that integrates both new and existing technologies such as digital efficiencies and fly by wire. Low cost design and production maturity owe much to the development of its current Integral two seater prototype.

“Amedeo is delighted to have signed an LOI for 200 ERA electric regional aircraft, which draws the commercial aviation industry closer to achieving its goal of net zero by 2050,” says Amedeo CEO Gabriella Lapidus. “We are very pleased to be partnered with Aura Aero in leading such an important climate-supporting initiative for the future. For Amedeo, sustainable aviation is more than aspirational, and we are committed and focused on partnerships in sustainable aviation that will define the next three decades in aerospace. We have seen various concepts showcased in the market, and Aura Aero has an edge with the skillset, talent and design that we stand behind. Its Integral prototype is the first stepping stone to a larger electrical regional aircraft.”

Aura Aero is developing design and manufacturing processes for fully digital electric aircraft, starting with a 19 passenger and a cargo version. It is already flying an aerobatic-capable training aircraft that will go electric in 2022, aimed at airline flight schools, military ab-initio and advanced programmes.