Our community’s ambition is to turn environmental challenges into a driver of growth for the industry. The Aeronautics Strategy Committee is committed to refocusing technological priorities. With the support of regional, national and European partners, the Cluster has ensured that public funding is prioritised for the modernisation of production and cutting-edge aeronautics research.

Sustainable air transport

The momentum generated by collective initiatives has led to the emergence of projects focused on new propulsion systems such as electrification, hybridisation and hydrogen. Aircraft manufacturer Aura Aero has made progress in the development and certification of its Integral E, powered by Safran’s first certified electric motor, and has accelerated the development and future production of its ERA hybrid regional aircraft.  The start-up Beyond Aero has achieved the key PDR (Preliminary Design Review) milestone for its BYA-1 business jet, marking major advances in the field of hydrogen-powered electric propulsion. 
 Ascendance has reached a major development milestone by completing the assembly of its first full-scale prototype, the Atea, a hybrid vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Elixir Aircraft has enjoyed a string of commercial successes and has notably been selected by ENAC to renew its fleet, as well as by its first US customer. The company has cemented its expansion with the announcement of a new 15,000 m² factory in La Rochelle. Against a backdrop of the growing importance of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), numerous initiatives are emerging in Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Aerospace Valley plays a coordinating role by supporting the work of CORAC’s SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuels) Working Group.

Value Chain Performance

Against a backdrop of strong industrial recovery and post-COVID ramp-up (793 deliveries for Airbus, the 600th unit of Daher’s TBM900, etc.), the increase in production rates requires more efficient and agile production tools. Aerospace Valley has rolled out a support programme for industrial excellence and digital transformation. In particular, the white paper ‘The Contribution of AI to a Sustainable Aerospace Industry’, officially presented at SIAE 2025, has become a benchmark for the sector.

The dynamics of airport hubs

Building on the success of previous workshops on airport infrastructure transformation (Auch, Jonzac, La Rochelle, Cahors), Aerospace Valley has further refined its methodology to successfully support Toulouse Lasbordes by making the most of the airport’s local characteristics and strengths.

A new image for the aviation sector in France and Europe

The aerospace sector has participated in communication campaigns focusing on the decarbonisation of aviation and new environmental and sovereignty challenges. Aerospace Valley has been involved in the educational committees of engineering schools to help develop the skills of tomorrow.

The Cluster attended the Clean Aviation Annual Forum in Brussels in March 2026, reaffirming Aerospace Valley’s commitment to European projects. In particular, the Cluster is coordinating a pilot phase of the European Motivate XR project (in partnership with Aerocampus, CS Group, Sopra Steria and Liebherr Aerospace), which is developing a suite of collaborative extended reality (XR) tools to improve industrial training, maintenance and operational efficiency through AI, digital twins and immersive technologies. With a human-centred approach, this initiative makes XR tools accessible to all staff, regardless of their technical background, thereby helping to improve and accelerate the skills development of industrial operators.

Crisis management

Finally, in the face of increasingly frequent wildfires and a growing shortage of water-bombing aircraft, the French industry has taken a significant step forward. The Cluster has continued to support Hynaéro, Kepplair Evolution, Positive Aviation and Airbus, backing their R&D, funding and visibility initiatives, whilst working closely with Nîmes Métropole on these strategic issues. With four platforms under development, France is seeing the emergence of serious competitors to the Canadair, and the maiden flights of the KE72 and FF72 will be eagerly anticipated at a time when the need for aerial resources has never been more pressing.

SELECTED WEBINARS AND EVENTS

• White Paper: The ‘AI for Aeronautics’ collective, led by Aerospace Valley, presented its white paper ‘The Contribution of AI to a Sustainable Aeronautics Industry’ at the SIAE’s Paris Air Lab in June 2025 (followed by presentations in July 2025 at La Cité Toulouse, and in September 2025 at Dassault Aviation in Mérignac).
• Aerospace Test and Development Show: The Cluster partnered with the international ATDS exhibition, which showcases technologies dedicated to testing and development. Held in September 2025 at MEETT Toulouse, it attracted 1,500 visitors and 120 exhibitors.
• Airport Workshop: This event brought together 50 people from the worlds of politics, academia and industry to discuss the future of Lasbordes Airport in November 2025.
• General Aviation Days: This event, dedicated to sustainable general aviation as part of the MAELE initiative, brought together 200 participants in November 2025 in Pau for two days of conferences and meetings focusing on new energy sources. A technology showroom and a static display of low-carbon aircraft were presented.
• Motivate XR Project: In September 2025, the Cluster organised the project’s general meeting in Latresne, near Bordeaux – Aerocampus.

EUROPE FOCUS

Launched in June 2024, the European MOTIVATE XR project is led by a European consortium bringing together the following stakeholders from the aerospace industry: Aerospace Valley, Aerocampus Aquitaine, CS Group and Sopra Steria.

The project aims to make the creation and use of XR (extended reality) experiences more accessible for training and support in industrial operations. By drawing on generative AI and no-code approaches, MOTIVATE XR aims to significantly simplify the production of immersive content: users can automatically transform technical documents into interactive XR scenarios that are interoperable and usable in real-world conditions. In 2025, an initial aerospace use case was developed in collaboration with the manufacturer Liebherr Aerospace, enabling these approaches to be validated under near-real conditions.

With a human-centred focus, this approach makes XR tools accessible to all types of users, without the need for advanced technical skills, thereby helping to improve and accelerate the skills development of industrial operators.