Unpiloted aircraft have great potential in the fields of transport, monitoring and surveying. Dufour Aerospace AG’s drone can transport loads of up to 40 kg over distances of several hundred kilometres.
Context
With its tilt-wing design, Aero2 looks like a cross between a helicopter and an aeroplane. That’s precisely the idea: during take-off, the four propellers lift the drone vertically into the air. Once it reaches cruise altitude, the wings then tilt the propellers to a vertical position so that the drone is propelled forwards. With a payload of 40 kg, the drone has a range of 400 km, increasing to almost 1,400 km for a load of 10 kg. It’s ideal for applications such as transporting urgent medical goods or aerial monitoring/data collection.
Technology
The tilt-wing drone was developed by Dufour Aerospace, which was founded in 2017 by Air Zermatt helicopter pilot Thomas Pfammatter. It’s the successor to Aero1, an electrically powered aerobatic aircraft. Aero2 has a hybrid propulsion system. During take-off and landing the rotors are powered by the on-board battery. In cruise flight, the power is supplied by kerosene. At a consumption of just three kilos of fuel per 100 km, the drone can get by with a 12 kg tank. The maximum take-off weight is 208 kg, the cruise speed 150 km/h. And the drone technology is scalable: based on its experience with Aero2, Dufour Aerospace is already planning a larger version with six propellers that can transport a 750 kg payload.
Maturity
**A first preliminary batch of three Aero2 drones was completed in 2024. Eight more are due to follow in 2025. These craft have a slightly lower maximum payload and are not yet licensed to fly over built-up areas, but the drones are ready for use and orders have already been placed by the Swedish drone operator European Medical Drone and the US company Spright. If the certification process runs to schedule, series production could start in late 2025. Dufour Aerospace has calculated that it needs around CHF 20 million of funding in the run-up to market launch. Development work to date has been financed by private investors. The Swiss innovation agency Innosuisse also provided a further CHF 2.5 million grant in 2023.
« By using results from flight simulators, we can cut the development time and costs for future drones by more than half » – Thomas Pfammatter, CEO of Dufour Aerospace AG
**Ce portrait est tiré de la 2e édition du panorama des start-up cleantech publié en 2024. Découvrez la publication complète ici.
