Hybrid-electric propulsion pioneer Ampaire is supporting Elire Aero's efforts to produce an existing family of light utility aircraft with reduced carbon powertrains. The start-up is in the process of acquiring an undisclosed airframer and on October 1 signed an agreement with Ampaire, which is already working on its own plans to re-engine aircraft including the Cessna Grand Caravan.
Elire Aero's business plan would see it offer the Ampaire propulsion system as one of several alternative powertrains for the aircraft it intends to produce. It is understood to be close to reaching agreements with two other undisclosed companies, including one that has already converted an existing aircraft to use its battery-electric powertrain and is also supporting a new all-electric aircraft program. The other company is developing hydrogen fuel cell technology.
The aircraft that Elire Aero intends to manufacture include models seating between 8 and 18 passengers, with customers having the option of buying new-build aircraft from the production line or having existing airframes converted under supplemental type certificates. While declining to disclose the identity of the airframer it intends to buy, Elire Aero CEO Luke Jenkinson told AIN the aircraft can operate from both land and water, with cargo as well as passenger-carrying applications.
The company expects to confirm the acquisition in mid-November and says that it will also announce “preorders” for 24 of the aircraft it will convert to electric propulsion by year-end. It says it aims to start delivering aircraft in 2026. It intends to double the production capacity of the manufacturer it is buying from the current rate of 24 units per year.
Asked why Elire believes it can compete in a crowded sector for new electric aircraft, Jenkinson said he expects to be able to get aircraft to market faster than rivals. “Speed is on our side," he explained, "because we will already have production facilities approved and can start making them in 12 to 18 months since the aircraft itself is already certified.”
Elire Aero is operating on initial capital of $30 million from backers within the aviation industry and venture capitalists. Jenkinson said this war chest would be sufficient to cover the first 18 months of operations.
The start-up’s leadership team includes several executives with aerospace experience, among them its CTO, Rajeev Verma, who is currently a chief engineer at Lockheed Martin in the UK. Its sister company, Elire Infra, is developing ground infrastructure for advanced air mobility services.
