Forum Munich Aerospace: E-aircraft – System Design and Certification

Presentation 1: Certification – the invisible backbone of aviation innovation.

By Sebastian Seemann

In an age where breakthrough aircraft concepts are widespread in aviation media headlines and investor decks, one crucial element is often overlooked: certification. While often perceived as an annoying bureaucratic burden, type certification is in fact the foundation of aviation safety and a key enabler for turning bold engineering into real-world operations.

This talk will shed light on the complex and often misunderstood certification landscape in aviation, demystifying the aviation safety regulatory framework and showing how closely it interrelates with aircraft design, timelines, and viability. It will also serve to introduce our company, AirDC, and its unique position as a hands-on partner helping bring novel aircraft to life—from first concepts through certification and flight testing.

The certification process will be explained along its most important building blocks. A spotlight will be put on two crucial elements in compliance demonstration: Structural loads and flight testing. We will hear about real-world examples and anecdotes from certification projects that highlight why the process must be integrated from the very start of development.

Presentation 2: eVTOL Propulsion Battery Design and Certification

By Pablo Gutiérrez González

As electric aviation accelerates, propulsion batteries have emerged as a critical bottleneck in enabling safe, certifiable, and eLicient eVTOL operations. This talk presents a structured walk-through of the battery system design cycle — from early goal-setting and energy storage trade-oLs to the certification and safety challenges unique to aviation.

The session begins by examining common missteps in requirement setting for battery systems, including misaligned expectations, eLiciency myths, and the influence of information asymmetry. This is followed by a breakdown of how battery packs evolve from a conceptual cell-level design to a packaged, certifiable aviation subsystem — with special focus on specific energy, packaging ratio, and regulatory compliance. Two core safety domains are addressed: thermal runaway containment and crashworthiness. Both are shown to be not only technical hurdles but also major certification drivers. Real-world design trade-oLs and solutions are presented, exposing the tension between innovation and pragmatism in electric flight.

The talk concludes with reflections on the unintended consequences of pushing energy goals beyond engineering or regulatory feasibility — and why many programs struggle despite access to advanced technology.

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