Blue Spirit Aero, the France-based aviation startup harnessing the power of hydrogen fuel cell technology, is using Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud to accelerate the development of its hydrogen-electric light aircraft.

The Dragonfly relies on Blue Spirit Aero's proprietary electro-propulsive technology optimised for clean performance, and is being developed with a view to certification and entry into service in 2026. In only a few months, Blue Spirit Aero has used Dassault Systèmes' Reinvent the Sky industry solution experience based on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to complete the detailed 3D design of Dragonfly's shapes, and test and validate its performance in terms of aerodynamics, structure and energy. From the outset, the platform's virtual environment on the cloud enabled the startup to structure its internal processes and streamline communication between experts across disciplines and locations for more efficient decision-making and full traceability.

“The 3DEXPERIENCE platform is the technology of reference in the aviation industry,” says Olivier Savin, ceo and founder, Blue Spirit Aero. “By using it to develop our aircraft from concept to certification, not only are we relying on one platform for all aspects of our product development, we are giving credibility to each milestone achieved. We can show potential investors, partners, employees, suppliers, customers and regulators that viable hydrogen solutions are being developed with the same software that has made the most technologically advanced commercial airliners possible.”

Regulators are working to establish certification processes for solutions involving disruptive hydrogen technologies. Blue Spirit Aero will be a catalyst in this by using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to demonstrate the feasibility of these solutions.

“Blue Spirit Aero exemplifies a dynamic startup driving the hydrogen economy that shares our vision for more sustainable aviation,” says David Ziegler, vp, Aerospace and Defense Industry, Dassault Systèmes. “Reinvent the Sky and the scalability offered by the cloud allow it to deploy new capabilities as its project matures, optimise program execution, and reduce costs. These are 'must-haves' for a startup paving the way toward the certification of a new category of vehicles.”