Ascendance strengthens its aviation battery capabilities with the acquisition of Limatech assets

Ascendance, a French company specialising in hybrid-electric propulsion technologies for aviation, today announced the acquisition of the industrial and intellectual property assets of Limatech, a French pioneer in the development of lithium batteries for aviation applications.

Through this acquisition, Ascendance is integrating several years of development and innovation in aviation batteries into its technology portfolio. The transaction notably includes patents, certifications, industrial equipment and a production line, complementing the technologies developed in-house by Ascendance for STERNA.

Strengthening a component of hybrid-electric propulsion

The battery and its management system are essential components of a hybrid-electric propulsion architecture.

Integrating the technologies developed by Limatech will enable Ascendance to strengthen its proprietary capabilities in this area and support the development and industrialisation of STERNA, its modular hybrid-electric propulsion system designed for integration across a wide range of platforms, from drones to aircraft, for both civil and defence applications.

Beyond its technological contribution, the acquisition of Limatech's industrial assets and production line also supports Ascendance's industrialisation strategy.

"Our challenge now is to turn our technological lead into products that can be industrialized and deployed at scale. Batteries are one of the strategic building blocks in this equation. The technologies developed by Limatech are complementary to our own developments and will enable us to accelerate the STERNA roadmap and its transition to industrial production. I would also like to recognize the work carried out by the Limatech teams over the past several years. They have developed high-quality technologies in a particularly demanding field. We are proud to give these French innovations a new industrial future within Ascendance," said Jean-Christophe Lambert, CEO and co-founder of Ascendance.

Giving French innovation a new industrial future

Over the past several years, Limatech's teams have developed battery technologies specifically designed to meet the requirements of the aviation industry. In doing so, Limatech has built significant expertise in France and developed an advanced technology portfolio dedicated to lithium batteries for aviation applications. Ascendance would like to recognise the work accomplished by Limatech's teams and the quality of the technologies they have developed.

By integrating these assets into its technology and industrial roadmap, Ascendance intends to build on these years of innovation and give them a new industrial future in support of the development of hybrid-electric aviation.

The transaction is part of Ascendance's broader strategy to strengthen its control over the critical technological building blocks of hybrid-electric propulsion: developing in-house the technologies that differentiate the company, working with partners where they bring additional value, and consolidating existing capabilities where they can accelerate its roadmap.

It also supports Ascendance's transition into a new phase of development: moving from technology maturation to the industrialisation and deployment of STERNA across a wide range of aviation platforms, from drones to aircraft, for both civil and defence applications.