ELECTRON Aerospace Scales Electric Aircraft Development with Cloud PLM

ELECTRON is a Netherlands-based aerospace company headquartered in Rotterdam, developing the next generation of sustainable regional aviation through its E5 aircraft, a fully electric, five-seat aircraft designed to enable efficient, quiet, and zero-emission air travel. The company focuses on creating practical solutions for regional air mobility by combining electric propulsion, innovative aircraft design, and a scalable approach to future aviation.

In partnership with TECHNIA, ELECTRON is deploying the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on cloud to unify design, simulation, and data management capabilities, creating a collaborative digital foundation to support the development of its next-generation electric aircraft.

“When our head of engineering joined the company, he posed a simple but important question: did we want to remain a start-up, or did we want to become a professional aerospace manufacturer? For us, the answer was clear. Achieving that ambition requires the right processes, governance, and digital foundation. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform provides the industry-standard environment we need to develop our aircraft efficiently, manage complexity, and support our certification journey.”

Marc-Henry de Jong, Co-founder | ELECTRON aerospace B.V.

Navigating aerospace certification and engineering complexity

As a young and fast-growing startup company, ELECTRON faced a critical decision; continue relying on improvised tools and disconnected processes, or establish the digital foundation required to operate as a future certified aircraft manufacturer. Developing the E5 aircraft requires close integration between design, simulation, configuration management, and technical documentation. Fragmented systems and disconnected data would create unnecessary complexity, making collaboration, traceability, and future growth increasingly challenging.

In addition, ELECTRON team needed a trusted partner that understood the realities of scaling an aerospace business, could provide proactive support, and bring proven PLM (product lifecycle management) expertise beyond traditional CAD (computer-aided design).

The key challenges included:

• Moving away from multiple disconnected software solutions towards a unified engineering environment.
• Enabling integrated design and simulation capabilities to support efficient aircraft development.
• Managing the growing demands of aerospace certification, including configuration control and full traceability.
• Establishing digital continuity across engineering and product development processes.
• Building a scalable foundation while working within start-up constraints, including limited resources, fast decision-making, and the need to avoid costly changes later.

Unifying design and simulation with 3DEXPERIENCE Cloud PLM

ELECTRON adopted the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the public cloud, delivered in partnership with TECHNIA, providing the company with enterprise-level engineering capabilities without the complexity of managing its own infrastructure. This enables the team to focus on developing the E5 aircraft while relying on a secure, scalable, and collaborative digital environment.

The platform connects design, simulation, governance, and lifecycle management within a single environment, supported by the Sustainability Driven Engineering Industry Process. ENOVIA enables structured product data and configuration management, while SIMULIA provides the advanced simulation capabilities required to optimize the performance and efficiency of an electric aircraft. With online learning experiences integrated into the solution, ELECTRON can accelerate user adoption and quickly build internal capability.

The 3DEXPERIENCE platform provides ELECTRON with:

• A unified engineering environment, eliminating the complexity of managing disconnected tools and systems.
• Integrated design and simulation capabilities to accelerate the development and optimization of the Electron 5.
• A single source of truth, ensuring digital continuity and improved collaboration throughout the product lifecycle.
• Robust configuration and documentation management to support aerospace certification requirements.
• A flexible cloud-based foundation that can scale alongside the company’s growth.

Digital continuity and EASA compliance readiness

With the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, ELECTRON has established a digital foundation to support its transition from an ambitious startup into a professional aerospace manufacturer. By moving away from fragmented tools and disconnected processes, the company has created a more integrated engineering environment that improves collaboration, reduces unnecessary rework, and supports the structured decision-making required for aircraft certification.

The solution enables ELECTRON to:

• Increase engineering efficiency through connected workflows and improved collaboration across disciplines.
• Maintain digital continuity from initial design and simulation through to future production activities.
• Strengthen traceability and documentation processes to support EASA certification requirements.
• Leverage a scalable, cloud-based platform that can evolve alongside the company’s growth.

Together with TECHNIA, ELECTRON has created a foundation that allows the team to focus on what matters most, developing quiet, zero-emission regional aircraft and advancing the future of sustainable aviation.