Aura Aero, a France-based aircraft manufacturer with full aeronautical approvals has gained two major French and European endorsements.

Its Aura Factory has been named a laureate of the new France 2030 call for projects operated by the BPI (French Public Investment Bank) and the Direction Générale des Entreprises. Aura Aero's efforts are recognised and the manufacturer will benefit from a new contribution of just over 12 million euros ($13.4m).

The Aura Factory project, which has been awarded the Première Usine (First Factory) label, is fully in line with objective number five of the France 2030 plan. The new factory will be set up at Toulouse-Francazal airport within two years, and will enable Aura Aero to produce the first prototype of ERA, its hybrid-electric 19 seat regional aircraft for which the industrial concept is now frozen and for which entry in service is scheduled before 2030.

Toulouse Métropole has already given the go-ahead for construction of the factory and the building permit will be submitted this autumn. The aircraft manufacturer will increase its workforce from 250 today to 1,600 in the long term, covering all operational functions from the design office to the final delivery of its aircraft at a rate of 150 per year.

The importance of this European industrial project enabled Aura Aero, in mid July, to become a laureate of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator programme. This major support from the European Union strengthens Aura Aero in its roll-out and footprint, already initiated at European level: the company has been named a member of the AZEA (Alliance for Zero Emission Aviation) executive committee and has been selected as one of the 16 founding companies of the European Future Mobility Taskforce.

This nomination by the EIC follows an extremely selective process: Aura Aero is the only company selected in the aeronautical sector, being one of only seven per cent of companies (68 winners out of 969 candidates) retained. With an annual budget of 675 million euros ($752m), the EIC funding programme is designed to support innovative European SMEs with disruptive innovations that actively contribute to decarbonisation.

Once in operation, the ERA aircraft produced in the first 10 years, replacing older-generation aircraft, will reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 10 million tons over 10 years. With the ERA, Aura Aero is thus providing an immediate response, before 2030, to the development of the intra-European economic network, which is now based on an increase in low-carbon fast connections. With more than 570 letters of intent for purchase, the ERA is already winning over airlines which are considering the many advantages of the aircraft: capable of cutting journey times by a factor of three, it also provides an air link between a large number of cities, even small ones, for which road or rail connections would require heavy investment.

As part of the global Net Zero initiative and the European Green Deal, the EIC Accelerator fund has just approved a contribution envelope of 17.5 million euros ($19.5m), enabling Aura Aero to maintain its European sovereignty while pursuing the development of the ERA.

Jérémy Caussade, president and co-founder of Aura Aero, is delighted: “We are very proud to have been selected by the European EIC Accelerator programme. The mark of confidence associated with this highly selective process and the financial assistance allocated will enable us to continue accelerating the development of our hybrid-electric aircraft. At the same time, our production plant project in Toulouse will soon be launched, thanks to the new support of France 2030, which follows that of Toulouse Métropole last February. This support from the French government encourages us and demonstrates that France wants to remain a leader in the future of low-carbon aviation by the end of this decade. Thanks to this decision, we now wish to pass a new milestone in our fundraising in order to rapidly continue our development in France.”