Ascendance Flight Technologies, a French aerospace start-up founded in 2018, is accelerating its mission to decarbonize aviation with a hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. The company’s founders, including CEO Jean-Christophe Lambert, bring experience from Airbus’ E-Fan project, the fully electric aircraft that crossed the English Channel in 2015. Their approach targets both manufacturing aircraft and developing propulsion systems to reduce carbon emissions across the sector.
Lambert states, “Our founding mission was to develop solutions to decarbonize aviation. We believe that hybrid technology – whether battery and sustainable aviation fuel or battery and conventional fuel – will be key to reach this goal.” This philosophy underpins the company’s two flagship developments: the STERNA propulsion system and the ATEA VTOL aircraft.
STERNA is a modular hybrid propulsion architecture capable of integrating batteries with a thermal engine powered by sustainable aviation fuel, conventional fuel, or, in future iterations, hydrogen. Its design allows multiple energy sources to operate simultaneously, optimizing their use depending on the flight phase. Take-off and landing draw primarily on battery power, reducing reliance on combustion during the most energy-intensive moments, while cruising prioritizes the thermal engine. Lambert explains, “This reduces CO2 emissions by 20-30% but, in the long term, this can reduce them by 50-100%. The innovation understands how to manage two energy sources depending on the flight phase.”
The ATEA aircraft embodies these principles in a quiet, low-carbon VTOL platform. Its configuration features eight rotors integrated into four wings—two per wing—providing vertical lift and transition to efficient wing-borne cruise. Capable of speeds exceeding 200 km/h and a range of 400 km, ATEA offers up to 80% lower CO2 emissions compared to a conventional helicopter, while noise levels are reduced by a factor of four. Lambert notes, “With ATEA, we aim to reach both goals. The aircraft has a very efficient cruise because its wings use the natural lift of the air. Hybrid propulsion then powers the other flight phases.”
Developing ATEA has involved close collaboration with Dassault Systèmes, leveraging its 3DEXPERIENCE cloud platform to manage systems engineering, product design, and governance in a unified environment. This integration allows multiple stakeholders to work concurrently on different aspects of the aircraft, accelerating prototyping and certification readiness. “Ascendance Flight Technologies has been working with Dassault Systèmes for over two years. We started using different software but moved to 3DEXPERIENCE to help us develop the first prototype of ATEA. The platform will add further reference of us in the future,” Lambert says.
The company’s momentum has been bolstered by significant financial backing, including a €34 million investment and recognition as a winner in France 2030’s initiative to produce low-carbon aircraft, announced by President Emmanuel Macron. This latter accolade brings an additional €49.3 million in support. At the Paris Air Show 2023, Ascendance showcased the ATEA prototype, aiming for its first flight in 2024.
Beyond its own aircraft, Ascendance is working to integrate STERNA into existing platforms to demonstrate hybrid propulsion’s potential. Daher, a long-established aircraft manufacturer, has committed to adopting the technology from 2023 onward as part of its decarbonization strategy. Lambert emphasizes the importance of early partnerships: “We need to work with first adopters in the market to show the possibilities of decarbonizing. In 2024, we expect to have ATEA flying and at least two partners for STERNA. This will help us switch to the industrialization and entry on the market for 2027.”
The combination of hybrid propulsion, efficient aerodynamics, and strategic collaboration positions Ascendance Flight Technologies as a notable contender in the emerging sustainable aviation landscape. By targeting both new aircraft designs and retrofit opportunities, the company seeks to accelerate the adoption of lower-emission solutions without waiting for the arrival of fully zero-carbon technologies.