AFI KLM E&M and Ascendance Flight Technologies announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This memorandum will allow the two companies to explore potential collaborations in the coming months in four main areas: line maintenance, component repair, mechanics training and airworthiness management.
Press release
AFI KLM E&M and Ascendance plugged in together to explore VTOL maintenance solutions
Paris, Amstelveen, 18 October 2022
The two companies signed an MOU to explore collaborations in the field of electrically powered aircraft and sustainable aviation.
An innovative and promising architecture
Ascendance is working on one of the most promising vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOL) projects in Europe. Called Atea, it consists of a 5-seat aircraft with a 400 km range thanks to the Sterna propulsion architecture also developed by the start-up: a distributed hybrid electric motorization, with a modular energetic approach to accept conventional fuel, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) up to Hydrogen. The certification activities regarding these technologies have officially started and an Atea prototype is expected to achieve its first flight in 2023.
“We are honored to receive this signal of interest from a major player in the field of aircraft maintenance. In parallel with our efforts to develop a new type of aircraft, it is very important for us to prepare the future of its operations today, in conjunction with the best experts in our industry. Maintenance is obviously at the center of our customers’ concerns and this collaboration with AFI KLM E&M is a major step towards providing them reliable solutions.”
Jean-Christophe Lambert
Co-founder and CEO of Ascendance
A collective effort to decarbonize aviation
With its experience as an airline-MRO, AFI KLM E&M will be able to answer the young aircraft maker's questions about the issues and challenges involved in developing maintenance policies that are operationally and financially efficient.
“At AFI KLM E&M, we have always been on the lookout for the best innovations in aviation. In particular, we are very interested in electric and hydride electric propulsion technologies, which are set to be future business drivers over the next decade. I believe that this type of cooperation is in the general interest and is a further illustration of the general mobilization of our industry to decarbonize aviation - a collective effort in which AFI KLM E&M is of course fully involved.”
Géry Mortreux
EVP Air France Industries
About Ascendance Flight Technologies
Founded in 2018 by Jean-Christophe Lambert, Thibault Baldivia, Clément Dinel and Benoît Ferran, Ascendance Flight Technologies is a start-up that has set itself the mission of decarbonizing aviation. Established in 2020 in the heart of Toulouse, the European aeronautics capital, it is developing an innovative hybrid propulsion system called STERNA and a vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL) fitted with this technology, called ATEA. ATEA is the future of vertical mobility. This 5-seat aircraft is a vertical take-off and landing aircraft designed as a clean, quiet and efficient alternative to the helicopter and will be presented in partnership with ADP at the 2024 Olympics. With a range of 400 km, a reduction in carbon emissions of up to 80% and a fourfold reduction in noise emissions, it is suitable for urban and regional use (passenger transport, tourism, medical emergencies, logistics and surveillance). STERNA is a hybrid propulsion technology which unlocks cleaner and more sustainable aviation. STERNA’s innovative electric architecture and embedded intelligence allow simultaneous use of several energy sources. STERNA is modular, so it can accommodate a thermal module or new hydrogen solutions, helping drive energy transformation in the aviation industry. The company has filed several patents on these technologies.
More information about Ascendance Flight TechnologiesPress contact
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