Evolito has received Design Organisation Approval from the UK CAA for its electric propulsion system products. It becomes the first company in the UK to achieve this accreditation, which will support customer requirements to certify their electric and hybrid aircraft. Type certification is necessary to prove an electric aircraft, its propulsion system or propeller are safe for commercial use.

Co-founder and CEO Dr Chris Harris says: "Securing Civil Aviation Authority DOA approval is an important step in supporting our customers aircraft certification activities and for applying for type certificates for our electric propulsion systems. Holding our own type certificate will allow aircraft customers to integrate our component off the shelf electric propulsion solutions, saving aircraft manufacturers both time and money and enabling them to focus on the aircraft certification."

Evolito has a team of over 200 employees from aerospace and automotive industries who have been working together to achieve this certification milestone. The DOA process was initiated in autumn 2022 with rigorous assessments of the company's organisation and procedures, and concluded with the signed approval in October 2023.

COO Gareth Morris says: "We have been working closely with the CAA through these thorough and rigorous assessments, and we are delighted that it has awarded Evolito the UK's first DOA for an electric propulsion system. While this DOA takes Evolito one step closer to type certification, it's also an important step for the electric aerospace industry, further accelerating the commercialisation of electric flight."

Evolito's axial flux electric motors, which are proven in rate manufacture, offer class-leading torque densities and system efficiencies best matched to propeller speeds used in eVTOL, UAV and fixed wing aircraft applications. Its motor topology is inherently safer and more robust than alternative motor types.

Tendai Mutambirwa, interim group director of safety and airspace regulation at the UK CAA, says: "It is important we enable companies like Evolito to bring their ideas to market in a safe, secure and sustainable way. We worked collaboratively with it to make sure the high safety standards the public can expect were met. Granting this Design Organisation Approval is an essential step for the electric aerospace industry, and it emphasises our commitment to make the UK a key destination for aviation innovators."