VÆRIDION, an all-electric aircraft manufacturer, has announced the successful completion of its second Pre-Application Contract (PAC) with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), marking another major milestone on the path to certification.
The completion of the PAC places VÆRIDION among the industry’s frontrunners in bringing certifiable high-voltage electric systems to market. Working alongside EASA and GKN Aerospace, the company has established the certification basis for some of the Microliner’s most novel technologies and helped define how future battery-electric aircraft can be certified under European regulations.
Throughout the PAC, VÆRIDION and EASA addressed the key certification aspects associated with the Microliner’s novel electrical storage, High Voltage Electrical Wiring Systems (HV-EWIS), and power distribution architecture. The viability of the proposed certification approach was confirmed, subject to the completion of the required testing, validation, and formal compliance demonstration in subsequent certification phases.
Markus Kochs-Kämper, CTO of VÆRIDION, stated: “Certification is built on early technical alignment, and this work confirms that our approach to high-voltage energy storage, power distribution, and EWIS is on the right path. Together with GKN Aerospace and EASA, we have established a robust certification framework that not only supports the Microliner, our nine-seat passenger and freighter aircraft, but also contributes to the future certification of high-voltage electric aircraft across the CS-23 category.”
The second PAC was carried out in close collaboration with GKN Aerospace, a global multi-technology leader in the aerospace industry. This achievement builds on a two-year technical partnership between VÆRIDION and GKN Aerospace, during which both companies have jointly matured electrical systems design and certification strategy. Together, they developed one of the first certification approaches for HV-EWIS in the CS-23 Level 3 category, combining VÆRIDION’s expertise in electric propulsion with GKN’s longstanding leadership in aircraft EWIS.
Enrique Alatorre, Senior Vice President of EWIS at GKN Aerospace, added: “GKN Aerospace has been investing in High Voltage EWIS technology for many years, with the clear objective of enabling certifiable solutions for the next generation of aircraft. Establishing this certification pathway together with VÆRIDION and GKN Aerospace’s team in the Netherlands is an important milestone for our industry. We are proud to have worked alongside EASA and VÆRIDION on this journey and look forward to continuing our support for VÆRIDION’s innovative and sustainable Microliner programme.”
The achievement follows VÆRIDION’s first EASA PAC completed in 2024, which established the certification approach for the Microliner’s distributed electric propulsion architecture. Together, the two PACs address the aircraft’s two main novel technology areas requiring dedicated certification alignment. By aligning the certification approach early on, VÆRIDION has further de-risked the Microliner’s certification path and laid the technical and regulatory groundwork for the next stages of development toward type certification and planned entry into service by 2030.
