VoltAero’s prototype Cassio 330 will utilise Safran Electrical & Power’s ENGINeUSTM 100 smart electric motor in the aircraft’s parallel electric-hybrid propulsion system, with the agreement for its supply signed at the UK’s Farnborough International Airshow.
The ENGINeUSTM 100 will have a maximum rating of well above 150-kW at take-off and is to be integrated along with a 150-kW thermal engine in VoltAero’s proprietary hybrid propulsion unit on the Cassio 330. Features of the ENGINeUSTM 100 include an integrated motor controller and an optimised air-cooling system for thermal management.
Under terms of the agreement, Safran Electrical & Power will deliver an ENGINeUSTM 100 motor before year-end for ground-based endurance testing of the electric-hybrid propulsion system. The supply of a flight-qualified ENGINeUSTM 100 will follow in 2023, enabling the start-up of flight testing with the Cassio 330 prototype. Certification of the electric motor is scheduled for mid-2023.
VoltAero will produce Cassio airplanes in three versions, each sharing a high degree of modularity and commonality. First to be certified is the Cassio 330, with a capacity of four/five seats and powered by the 330-kW electric-hybrid propulsion system. The follow-on six-seat Cassio 480 will have a combined electric-hybrid propulsion power of 480-kW while the Cassio 600 is sized at a 10/12-seat capacity with electric-hybrid propulsion power of 600-kWs.
