The future can be sustainable yet tech savvy, high tech yet mindful of environmental concerns.

Designed to meet the needs of regional and intercity flights, the Cassio aircraft will provide a rapid and credible response to new environmental requirements. Combining performance and safety, Cassio will contribute to considerably reducing noise pollution and the carbon footprint of air transport through a finer and more adaptable network of air mobility.

VoltAero is a pioneer, aiming to transform air travel with electric-hybrid propulsion. It is the only European company developing high-performance aircraft, using innovative technologies.

The Cassio 330, a 5-seater aircraft with hybrid electric propulsion, is their flagship. The Cassio family will provide a high-performance and reliable product line for regional commercial operators, air taxi/charter companies, private pilots as well as for cargo transportation, postal deliveries and medical evacuations (Medevac). This modularity is key to the development of the Cassio range.

With regards to propulsion, the multiple sources of energy ensure very safe modes of operation by utilizing one source of power (electrical or mechanical) – or both – depending on the usage scenario. In a typical flight, the electrical motors would be used for nearly-silent takeoffs and landings, with the internal combustion engine serving as a range extender.

Cassio is at the heart of more environmentally-respectful behaviors in short-haul air travel, and brings on questions such as:

What will passenger experience of future of air travel be like?
What vision for the transformation of travel practices and the ecosystem at play in electric, short distance air travel?
What brand identity for a start-up in an emerging industry sector and market?
Can we facilitate the adoption of new usages and more environmentally-respectful behaviors?
How can in-house and external experts collaborate in a creative manner on design projects on the Cloud?

This is where Dassault Systèmes' DESIGNStudio acted as an external yet agile and seamlessly integrated co-conception partner for VoltAero.

Imagining alternative scenarios to transform the world we live in into a more sustainable and desirable one, Dassault Systèmes' DESIGNStudio reflects, experiments and confronts approaches combining social and technologies through creation and, ultimately, bringing about the value of design for the well-being of users, citizens and society.

Collaborating with VoltAero through a comprehensive "V+R design studio" on the cloud allowing real-time co-conception (on Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform), the DESIGNStudio's contribution focused specifically on defining:

Branding & identity for VoltAero Defining the full brand book for a young brand in an emerging industry sector

Global architecture for the Cassio range Defining a look and feel for a brand new product for emerging usage

External & interior design of the cabin & cockpit Defining the experience combining brand identity, ergonomics (including for wheelchair users), modularity requirements and technical constraints

Virtual Reality experience of the cabin Creating an engaging immersive experience based on a Virtual Twin of the cabin

The choice of materials and industrial processes are at the crossroads of certified aviation solutions and virtual design approaches. The use of the virtual twin, for design and simulation, allows the traceability of all materials, as well as the associated supply chain and logistics.

VoltAero VoltAero's proprietary Cassio design is based on a sleek, aerodynamically-optimized fuselage, a forward fixed canard, and an aft-set wing with twin booms that support a high-set horizontal tail. It will be certified to Europe's EASA CS23 certification specification as a single-engine, general aviation category aircraft, and is designed from the start for a low cost of ownership.

Cassio will be offered in three versions, each sharing a high degree of modularity and commonality: — Cassio 330, a five-seat configuration with propulsion from a combined electric-hybrid power of 330 kilowatts; — Cassio 480, configured with six seats and an electric-hybrid propulsion power of 480 kilowatts; — Cassio 600, with a 10-12-seat capacity and electric-hybrid propulsion power of 600 kilowatts.

The VoltAero flight demonstrator is validating Cassio's powertrain configuration, de-risking it for airworthiness certification.

Cassio performance · Autonomy: 3.5 hours (extension possible to 5 hours) · Range: 800 miles · Cruise speed: 200 knots · Take-off/landing distance: less than 1,800 feet · Maximum takeoff weight: Under 2.5 metric tons (EASA CS23 certification) · Availability: 10 hours/day (equivalent to approximately eight rotations daily)

Cassio propulsion · Unique patented series/parallel hybrid design: from full electric to full rechargeable hybrid, depending on the flight profile and mission requirement · The dual source of power provides unmatched safety · 4 dBa lower noise than comparable aircraft during operations, and no noise during ground taxi (with an electrically-driven nose wheel) · 20% lower emissions than comparable aircraft in the full hybrid mode and 100% in full electric

Safe, efficient and eco-friendly: these are the keywords for VoltAero's electric-hybrid powertrain.

Equipped with VoltAero's proprietary propulsion module – which combines electric motors and an internal combustion engine – Cassio aircraft will have propulsive power ranging from 330 to 600 kilowatts, corresponding to the aircraft's versions with four, six and 10-seats.
In its application on the mid-sized Cassio version – which has six seats – the hybrid power module combines 300-kW of internal combustion engine power with three electric motors of 60 kW each, delivering a total power of 480 kW.

Dassault Systèmes' DESIGNStudio Advocating a participative approach with regards to new technologies and virtual universes, the DESIGNStudio works with clients in various industry sectors as they transform their processes of ideation, creation and ultimately the value proposition for their end customers. In response to intensive innovation and complex human-centred challenges, the DESIGNStudio imagines, formalizes and models experience concepts accelerating the adoption of Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE Platform.

Dassault Systèmes' DESIGNStudio uses an augmented design approach that is both "virtual" (3D, digital twin, design in the context of use), informed (connected to design through data) and "circular" while respecting the "principles of Circular Design" from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The design principles associated with 3D are used from the start of the design in order to converge all the transdisciplinary aspects of a design that is both "good" and "ethical" and promote informed and enlightened decision-making.

Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform 3DEXPERIENCE is a business and innovation platform that provides organizations with a holistic, real-time vision of their business activity and ecosystem. It connects people, ideas, data and solutions in a single collaborative environment empowering businesses – from startups to large enterprises, to innovate, produce and trade in entirely new ways.

The platform acts as a single version of the truth to anchor outcome-based processes and capture all activities in one place. It securely connects individuals, teams, departments and external collaborators working together to transform ideas into innovative products, services and experiences.

The collaboration The collaboration with Dassault Systèmes' DESIGNStudio ensures agility and efficiency for VoltAero, perfectly fit for the rhythm and financial imperatives of a start-up. It allows the entire company to understand how a design approach on the Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform crucially contributes to the success of an innovative entrepreneurial adventure.

The VR experience is used by the VoltAero team at major air shows to demonstrate their value proposition to stakeholders and customers: Le Bourget, OshKosh, Friedrichshafen, Dubai etc. Visitors can experience the cabin, the spaciousness, the ergonomics, the glass cockpit...

Benefit for the end user This project made it possible to create a remarkable and directly understandable experiential environment for future users and customers by matching the challenges of carbon-free air mobility with the innovations that VoltAero is developing around its aircraft. These disruptive innovations require user adoption, and design contributes to behavior change. The identity, like the ambitions of VoltAero's Cassio project, are now clearly established.

The joint work between DESIGNStudio and VoltAero has notably made it possible to achieve an optimized layout of the cabin and cockpit, serving the customer experience.

Uniquely for this aircraft category, the interior is geared towards accommodating wheelchair users. Features of the Cassio aircraft family include the largest cabin of its class in terms of height and width, incorporating a flat floor and providing unobstructed access through a large door forward of the wing.

Design impact The collaboration around the Cassio 330 is materialized in particular by:
— A prototype (Cassio S) accumulating more than 140 hours of flight for 10,000km traveled across Europe
— A graphical environment fully deployed on all company media
— The creation of an interior layout in a test cabin
— A ready-to-fly prototype of the Cassio 330 presented at the 2023 Paris Air Show
— Over 200 pre-orders for the Cassio 330 from various key players in air transport

Interviews VoltAero founder Jean Botti at the 2023 Paris Air Show

VoltAero engineer Julien Gervais at the 2023 Paris Air Show

More here: https://www.voltaero.aero/multimedia-library/