Washington-headquartered manufacturer of aircraft electric propulsion systems magniX has named Nuno Taborda as chief executive officer. Taborda is an accomplished aerospace executive with two decades of experience driving business performance and delivering pioneering technology programmes from proof-of-concept through certification, entry-into-service and scaled production.

“Nuno is a leader with deep experience in all aspects of the aviation industry,” says chairman Dominique Spragg. “His entrepreneurial mindset is highly valuable as magniX continues to pioneer electric solutions for the future of flight. The expertise and background Nuno brings to the team comes at a crucial point for magniX as the company moves its electrical propulsion systems towards certification and into production at scale.”

Taborda joins magniX on 1 June from Rolls-Royce. Most recently he was senior vice president of production programmes, accountable for all engine production programmes in the multi-billion dollar business aviation unit at the engineering company. He was previously the executive responsible for the entry-into-service of the Rolls-Royce Pearl 15 engine, the first member of a new engine family for the next generation of Rolls-Royce powered business jets. He has also held senior roles in engineering, operations and strategy in Germany, Brazil, Canada and the UK.

“I am extremely proud and excited to have the opportunity to lead the incredibly talented magniX team,” says Taborda. “We are on the cusp of the biggest technological leap aviation has seen since the development of the gas turbine by Sir Frank Whittle. It is exciting to see magniX leading the way with its advanced technology and innovation.”

Taborda joins magniX at a time of significant growth. The company recently announced the key industry partners for its NASA Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project to accelerate the introduction of electrification technology for use in commercial applications by partnering with AeroTEC, an industry leader in integrating electric propulsion on aircraft, and Air Tindi, operator of De Havilland Canada Dash 7 aircraft, to demonstrate a hybrid aircraft configuration with planned first flight by 2025.

magniX last week agreed to develop the propulsion for a pure electric and hybrid-electric version of the Cessna Caravan in an agreement with Los Angeles-based electric aviation and air travel company Surf Air, converting more than 150 aircraft.