VoltAero, Aura Aero, Bye Aerospace, Diamond Aircraft and CAE have selected ENGINeUS electric motors from Safran Electrical & Power to equip their electric or hybrid aircraft. These motors are aimed at all market segments, from air taxis and training aircraft to commuters and regional aircraft, including the hybridisation of future generations of engines for commercial aircraft.

Safran has recently obtained Design Organisation Approval from EASA for the electric motor and is currently conducting final tests with a view to certification in early 2024.

“We have chosen to create our future automated lines of electric motors in Niort and Pitstone because these facilities are a perfect fit with our industrial plan. This is a significant step towards mass production of our ENGINeUS electric motors to the highest performance standard. We are currently on the home stretch in obtaining final certification from the air authorities. This equipment is one of the essential building blocks in Safran's decarbonisation strategy,” says Bruno Bellanger, executive vice president and general manager of the power division.

Automated production lines will be installed at sites in Niort, France and Pitstone, UK by early 2025. This high-volume production model, inspired by the automotive sector, will enable 1,000 motors to be manufactured per year from 2026 to serve the booming electric and hybrid aviation markets.

Altogether, Safran will open four lines: two in Niort in western-central France at the Group's electrical systems centre of excellence, which boasts highly efficient test benches; and two in Pitstone at the rotating machines centre of excellence. The Pitstone site will be home to the automatic production lines for rotors and stators, the rotating machines at the heart of the motors, while the Niort site will handle the automatic production of power electronics and final motor assembly.

Each automated line will include eight workstations capable of carrying out different screwing, gluing and pressing operations simultaneously. These modular stations, each of which is both standalone and connected to the production line, can be adapted in response to future changes to the product.

In Niort, the French civil aviation authority DGAC is providing a 50 per cent investment, and special machines specialist Baron is developing the automated lines and the workstations. In Pitstone, the Aerospace Technology Institute has a 50 per cent stake, and the Adelphi group will supply the lines and the workstations. Two British universities, the University of Warwick and the Nottingham Trent University, are also providing their expertise in implementing co-engineering methods.