Dutch electric aircraft developer Venturi Aviation and Airborne, provider of automated and digital advanced composite manufacturing, have joined together to investigate the production of lightweight composite structures.

Venturi's Echelon 01, an all-electric commuter aircraft with a 44-seat capacity and 500 km range that matches the needs of regional airliners, is envisioned to be launched in 2028 and will be manufactured in volume production from 2029 onward. Its design was unveiled in January.

To realise the Echelon 01, both companies say that they recognise the crucial importance of achieving low weight to enable sufficient range for this battery-electric regional jet. At the same time, the manufacturing needs to be much more efficient and scalable than traditional aerospace manufacturing processes can deliver.

The companies' collaboration has the objective to develop a digital and automated factory for composite lightweight structures which is much more flexible and dynamic and is based on on-demand manufacturing. New, low-capex manufacturing processes will be researched to avoid the investment in large and expensive infrastructure and instead create smaller, cheaper micro-factories.

Airborne and Venturi both look forward to exploring the possibilities of their cooperation and boosting the revolution to make aviation sustainable.