Beyond Aero released the results of a new feasibility study this week detailing plans for a manufacturing facility for its planned hydrogen-electric BYA-1 business aircraft. The site is intended to support serial production and serve as a base for aircraft assembly, testing and customer operations.
The planned facility would include a 17,000-square-meter final assembly line, a delivery center with access to road and runway, a customer showroom, a paint shop, and R&D offices and labs. Beyond Aero said the site is being evaluated to support an initial rate of 60 aircraft per year, with room to scale to 120. The company projects 225 production positions across technician, engineering, quality, logistics and hydrogen-electric integration roles, alongside supporting teams.
“Modeling and testing our hydrogen-electric aircraft was only the first step,” CEO Eloa Guillotin said. “We are now building the industrial system capable of delivering it.”
Porsche Consulting’s work outlined production flow, energy needs and site operations, while Kardham Group developed the architectural concepts for the proposed campus.
“Designing a Final Assembly Line for a hydrogen-electric aircraft requires rethinking traditional aerospace production principles,” Dr. Arnaud De Vries of Porsche Consulting said.
Beyond Aero said it is now assessing candidate regions in France and across Europe for the long-term location of the facility. The company reports more than $1 billion in letters of intent for the BYA-1 and previously completed what it described as France’s first manned, fully hydrogen-electric flight.
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