Behind the scenes in Rochefort, a close look at VoltAero’s new factory: video 

Hybrid-electric propulsion, combining an electric engine for certain phases of an aircraft’s operation with a thermal engine for cruise flight, is emerging as a realistic alternative for kickstarting decarbonization in some segments of the aviation industry. 

One of the first to spot the promising opportunities that this technology offers is Jean Botti, a former chief technology officer (CTO) at Airbus. In 2018, Botti founded VoltAero. 

This French startup thus became one of the early champions of hybrid-electric technology, with a technology demonstrator aircraft called ‘Cassio S’ (a retroffited Cessna 337 Skymaster) flying thousands of miles across France.  

Miquel Ros / AeroTimeHowever, VoltAero’s ultimate ambition is to develop a whole family of clean-sheet hybrid-electric aircraft. It will consist of three models: the five-seat Cassio 330, the six-seater Cassio 480 and the 12-seater Cassio 600 (the number of each model denoting its power, so 330, 480 and 600 kilowatts respectively). 

The first of these to undergo certification and enter the market will be the Cassio 330, which has received a significant degree of interest from operators around the world. These include Air New Zealand, which selected it for its ‘Mission Next Gen Aircraft’ program, alongside other forerunners of sustainable aviation such as Heart Aerospace and BETA Technologies. 

Miquel Ros / AeroTimeVoltAero already showcased a full-size mockup of the Cassio 330 at the 2023 Paris Air Show, but here at AeroTime we wished to learn more about the company’s current flight-testing campaign and its industrial plans. 

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VoltAero showcases its sleek hybrid-electric aircraft: video 

So, AeroTime travelled all the way to Rochefort, a historical town in Western France, where VoltAero has built its headquarters and main industrial facility. 

Miquel Ros / AeroTimeThe factory, inaugurated in November 2024, is located at Rochefort Airport, where VoltAero shares the runway with the French Air Force, which has a training facility at the site. 

Arthur Grunwald, Program Manager at VoltAero, show us around the hangar where the Cassio S is kept, offering AeroTime readers a close-up look at this hybrid-electric testbed, as well as of the Cassio 330 mockup, which will again be exhibited at Le Bourget during this year’s Paris Air Show, on June 16-22, 2025. 

VoltAero plans to expand these facilities to install the first final assembly line for the Cassio family of aircraft, as soon as the type receives certification and the company secures additional funding to roll out its expansion plans (VoltAero closed a Series B funding round in 2022). 

If everything goes according to plan, VoltAero is already plotting its overseas expansion. With this in mind, in November 2024, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US firm AltiSky to distribute the Cassio family of aircraft in North America and potentially build a second final assembly line (FAL) in the US. 

Miquel Ros / AeroTimeThe post Behind the scenes in Rochefort, a close look at VoltAero’s new factory: video  appeared first on AeroTime.

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