Electra Solar
Elektra Solar GmbH is a German DLR spin-off that designs, certifies, and manufactures solar-electric manned and unmanned aircraft — primarily the certified Elektra Trainer ultralight — for flight schools, research institutions, and aerial-survey operators across Europe and increasingly Asia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersLandsberg Am Lech, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Electra Solar does
Elektra Solar GmbH is a German aerospace company that designs, certifies, and manufactures solar-electric manned and unmanned aircraft, headquartered in Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria with a research branch at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) campus in Wessling. The company traces its origins to PC-Aero GmbH, founded by Calin Gologan in 2011, and to a 2012 unmanned-systems spinout (Elektra-UAS GmbH); the two entities merged in 2016 to form Elektra Solar GmbH as a commercial vehicle for DLR Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics spin-off IP. Its product family — Elektra One Solar (single-seat optionally piloted), Elektra Trainer (two-seat training ultralight), Elektra Two Solar (stratospheric UAS with 27m wingspan), and Elektra VTOL (electric VTOL drone) — shares a common technological stack: carbon composite airframes, HPD electric propulsion motors, optional solar-cell integration, a proprietary triple-redundant autopilot, and a cloud-based Digital Aircraft Platform for diagnostics and predictive maintenance.
The Elektra Trainer is the lead commercial platform and the first and only electric aircraft certified in the German Ultraleicht class (LTF-UL-2020). Targeted primarily at flight schools and flight clubs, it competes on €200,000+ entry pricing, €50–60 per flight-hour operating costs, 2.5–3 hour endurance, 300 km range, sub-50 dB noise, and trailer-to-flight assembly in approximately 40 minutes. Revenue is generated across hardware sales (aircraft, solar trailers, transport trailers), leasing and charter programs, aerial geodata services through a partnership with 3D RealityMaps, and IP licensing/transfer of electric-aerial-system designs to other developers. Go-to-market is hybrid: a small direct sales team covering DACH and the Nordics, supported by strong recurring presence at AERO Friedrichshafen, ILA Berlin, and the Electrifly-In eTrophy in Bern, with a growing channel of authorized flight school partners (Flight School Lorenzen being the first such partner for both training and maintenance). Customers to date are early-adopter and demonstrative in profile: Flight School Lorenzen (Germany), Oulu University of Applied Sciences (Finland, ET-RP research platform), DoTec at Allgäu-Airport Memmingen (engineering/maintenance), and an unnamed Flugschule as the first school sale.
Commercial scale remains early: the company operates with an 11–50 employee headcount, has just begun small-series production (a first batch of three Elektra Trainer FG aircraft), and is exploring scale through a 2026 manufacturing partnership with Jiangsu Shengyi Aviation Technology (China) while pursuing a presence at Oulu University via a 5,200 km "From Alps to the Arctic" research flight demonstration. R&D and product breadth remain wider than current monetization: stratospheric platforms (Elektra Two Solar), eVTOL (Elektra VTOL), and consortium-driven R&D (the Elektrail automatic-rail-landing program with DLR-RM, University of Hamburg, and TH Aachen under the LuFo program) point to a longer-horizon product roadmap beyond the current Trainer-centric commercial base.
Electra Solar firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Electra Solar
- Legal name
- Elektra Solar GmbH
- Website
- https://elektra-solar.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Elektra Solar GmbH is a German DLR spin-off that designs, certifies, and manufactures solar-electric manned and unmanned aircraft — primarily the certified Elektra Trainer ultralight — for flight schools, research institutions, and aerial-survey operators across Europe and increasingly Asia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Electra Solar industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Electric Aircraft Manufacturing
- NAICS
- Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)
- SIC
- Aircraft (3721), Aircraft & Parts (3720)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Electric & Hybrid-Electric Propulsion (eVTOL/Regional) (IMABADAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- VTOL & Hybrid UAV Platforms (IMABAIAC), Emerging Aviation Maintenance (UAS/Drone, eVTOL & Advanced Air Mobility) (EDAOAFAO)
Keywords
Where Electra Solar is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Landsberg Am Lech
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Electra Solar business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Electric aircraft sales: Sale of manned solar-electric aircraft including Elektra Trainer, Elektra One, and Elektra Two Solar. Prices start at €200,000 for Elektra Trainer. Also includes VTOL drones and unmanned systems.
- Leasing and charter services: Attractive leasing options and charter offers available for aircraft purchases, providing flexible financing alternatives to outright ownership.
- Aerial services and geodata acquisition: Services using solar-electric aircraft for photogrammetry, aerial surveys, 3D city modeling, thermal imaging, and multispectral imaging through partnership with 3D RealityMaps.
- Trailer and transport systems: Transport trailers and solar-PV storage systems for aircraft transportation and autonomous energy supply at field locations.
- IP licensing and transfer: Sale of intellectual property for products to partners interested in developing their own aerial systems. Includes IP-transfer projects up to prototype operation or series production setup.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Elektra Trainer base price starting at €200,000 |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Operating costs approximately €50-60 per flight hour |
| Subscription | Monthly | Leasing and charter options available |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Electra Solar product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Elektra Solar designs, manufactures, and sells solar-electric manned and unmanned aircraft — including the two-seat Elektra Trainer, single-seat Elektra One Solar, stratospheric Elektra Two Solar, and Elektra VTOL eVTOL drone — together with the cloud-based Digital Aircraft Platform for diagnostics, a Solar-PV trailer for autonomous charging, and emission-free aerial geodata acquisition services. Customers are primarily flight schools, flight clubs, research institutions, and geospatial survey operators in DACH and Northern Europe.
Product overview
Elektra Solar GmbH offers a family of solar-electric aircraft based on aerodynamic and structural similarity, using common system components (electric power unit, autopilot, solar system). The product lineup includes: Elektra One Solar (single-seat optionally piloted aircraft), Elektra Trainer (two-seat training aircraft), Elektra Two Solar (large stratospheric research aircraft), and Elektra VTOL (eVTOL drone). All aircraft feature electric propulsion with optional solar cell integration, dual redundancy, and cloud-connected diagnostics via the Digital Aircraft Platform. The company also provides aerial geodata acquisition services in partnership with 3D RealityMaps, and offers accessories including solar trailers for autonomous charging. The Elektra Trainer is the primary commercial product for flight schools and clubs, while larger aircraft serve research and surveillance applications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Elektra Trainer Two-seat electric ultralight aircraft for flight schools, flight clubs, glider towing, and pilot training. Powered by an HPD-50D electric motor (70 kW peak / 40 kW continuous) with a 30 kWh battery, dual redundant drive, 2.5 hours endurance, 300 km range, HOTAS controls, 15.6-inch touchscreen glass cockpit, integrated 12 kW Type 2 charging, and cloud diagnostics via the Digital Aircraft Platform. Prices start at €200,000.
- Elektra One Solar Single-seat optionally piloted or unmanned solar-electric aircraft. HPD 32D motor with up to 20 kW continuous power, up to 3.5 hours flight duration with solar cells, 300 km range, triple-redundant autopilot enabling fully autonomous missions. Certified in the German ultralight class.
- Elektra Two Solar Large solar-electric aircraft for stratospheric operations, available in optionally piloted (OPS) and unmanned (UAS) versions. 27 m wingspan, dual redundant propulsion, up to 12 hours flight duration (OPS) or 18 hours (UAS), 100 kg max payload. Used in high-altitude research including the Solarstratos project.
- Elektra VTOL (eVTOL) Electric vertical takeoff and landing drone using a simplified two-motor, two-control-surface architecture. Up to 3 hours endurance, 2 kg payload capacity (with solar-cell option for extended flight), supports 60 MP, multispectral, and gimbal camera payloads for surveillance with target tracking.
- Aerial Geodata Acquisition Services Emission-free aerial surveying services delivered via 3D RealityMaps partnership, including photogrammetric 3D modeling, orthophoto generation, oblique aerial imaging, thermal imaging, and multispectral imaging. Capabilities include 4 cm ground resolution at 300 m altitude, up to 25 km² coverage per day, and up to 400 km flight distance.
- Elektra Trainer Research Platform (ET-RP) Elektra Trainer configured as a Versatile Research Platform (ET-RP) for universities and research institutions, with dedicated interfaces for electric-aviation research, energy management studies, and autonomous flight experimentation. First customer: Oulu University of Applied Sciences for a 5,200 km 'North Circuit – From Alps to the Arctic' demonstration.
Quantifiable outcome
- Operating costs reduced to €50-60/hour compared to €100-120/hour for conventional UL aircraft
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Electra Solar
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Electra Solar technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Electra Solar partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Jiangsu Shengyi Aviation Technology Co., Ltd.coreChinese subsidiary for further development and production of Elektra Trainer. Enables manufacturing scale-up and access to Asian markets.
- Norbert Lorenzen / Flight School LorenzencoreFirst authorized maintenance partner for Elektra Solar aircraft. First UL flight school to offer electric aircraft training starting December 2024.
- Kempten-Durach airfield operators and E-charging network consortiumminorConsortium developing network of E-charging stations for aircraft in Bavaria and Germany. Supports adoption of electric aircraft in flight sport clubs.
- Mb+Partner and Nordwig WerkzeugbauminorHamburg-based companies shared ILA Berlin booth with Elektra Solar. Part of Elektrail project (LuFo program) developing automatic landing systems.
- DLR Institute for Robotics and MechatronicscoreParent institution and ongoing R&D collaborator. Elektra Solar is spin-off from this DLR institute. CEO Konstantin Kondak is also Senior Researcher at DLR-RM.
- Elektrail consortium partnerscoreConsortium including DLR, Uni Hamburg, and Technische Hochschule Aachen developing automatic landing system for aircraft on rail platforms. Supported by Ministry for Economic Affairs LuFo program.
- Technologie Transfer Zentrum (TTZ) at Technische Hochschule AugsburgcorePartnership for E-Mobility in aviation. Elektra Solar is partner for regional mobility concepts combining E-Taxis, public transport, and E-Aircraft. Located at company's main facility in Landsberg am Lech.
- SAAC research project consortiumminorResearch collaboration between University of Oulu and Oulu University of Applied Sciences, funded by Council of Oulu Region through European Regional Development Fund.
- Morell WestermannminorCooperation partner for E-Flight Challenge project demonstrating long-distance electric flight capability between Norderney and Hannover.
- 3D RealityMaps GmbHcoreStrategic partnership for photogrammetric 3D modeling using solar-powered aircraft. Provides aerial photography, 3D city models, thermal and multispectral imaging. 5-camera system achieving 4 cm resolution from 300m altitude.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Electra Solar competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pipistrel (Textron eAviation): Slovenian pioneer of light electric aircraft; Velis Electro is the world's first type-certified electric airplane and is already in flight-school commercial service globally. Pipistrel is now owned by Textron eAviation, giving it category-leading scale versus Elektra Solar in the same two-seat electric training use case.
- Diamond Aircraft: Austrian/Canadian manufacturer of composite training aircraft. The electric eDA40 directly competes with Elektra Trainer in the same flight-school and general-aviation training segment, and was named alongside Elektra in the Flieger Magazin 2025 award category.
- Bye Aerospace: US-based developer of the eFlyer 2 and eFlyer 4 all-electric training aircraft targeting flight schools. Same product category as Elektra Trainer with similar low-cost, electric, training-focused value proposition.
- Bristell (BRM Aero): Czech manufacturer of the B23 Energic, an electric two-seat LSA/UL trainer that competes head-to-head with Elektra Trainer for European flight-school buyers. Also directly referenced as an Elektra competitor in the Flieger Magazin 2025 award.
Emerging players
- Heart Aerospace: Swedish developer of the ES-30 hybrid-electric 19-seat regional aircraft. Comparable as a European clean-sheet electric aviation startup, but oriented to regional airline use rather than flight-school/training like Elektra.
- Vertical Aerospace: UK eVTOL aircraft developer pursuing urban air taxi certification. Adjacent to Elektra in electric vertical-flight technology and partial overlap in unmanned aerial systems, but competes in air-mobility markets rather than UL training.
- Lilium: German eVTOL/eSTOL aircraft developer for regional air mobility. Overlaps with Elektra in German electric-aviation ecosystem, partially in unmanned/electric propulsion tech, but serves an urban/regional air mobility market rather than flight schools.
- Hatzlachh Joby Aviation: US eVTOL developer of the S4 air-taxi. Broader eVTOL adjacency with Elektra VTOL product line on propulsion and autonomous flight control, though targeting urban mobility rather than flight-school training.
Broad incumbents
- Eviation Aircraft: Developer of the Alice electric commuter aircraft for regional airline use. Larger and broader than Elektra, but operates in the same electric fixed-wing aerospace category with overlaps in electric propulsion and clean-sheet aircraft development.
Others
- Solar Impulse Foundation (Solarstratos): Swiss solar-electric stratospheric initiative (Solarstratos) that explicitly uses the Elektra Two Solar platform. Thematically linked through solar-electric manned/unmanned stratospheric flight, sharing both technology base and ecosystem.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Electra Solar social profiles
Digital presenceElectra Solar financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Electra Solar leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Electra Solar funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Electra Solar M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Electra Solar
What does Electra Solar do?
Elektra Solar designs, manufactures, and sells solar-electric manned and unmanned aircraft — including the two-seat Elektra Trainer, single-seat Elektra One Solar, stratospheric Elektra Two Solar, and Elektra VTOL eVTOL drone — together with the cloud-based Digital Aircraft Platform for diagnostics, a Solar-PV trailer for autonomous charging, and emission-free aerial geodata acquisition services. Customers are primarily flight schools, flight clubs, research institutions, and geospatial survey operators in DACH and Northern Europe.
Is Electra Solar a public or private company?
Electra Solar is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Electra Solar founded?
Electra Solar was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Electra Solar based?
Electra Solar is headquartered in Landsberg Am Lech, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Electra Solar make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Electric aircraft sales are the primary driver. The others are leasing and charter services, aerial services and geodata acquisition, trailer and transport systems and IP licensing and transfer.
Who are Electra Solar's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pipistrel (Textron eAviation), Diamond Aircraft, Bye Aerospace and Bristell (BRM Aero). Emerging players are Heart Aerospace, Vertical Aerospace, Lilium and Hatzlachh Joby Aviation. Eviation Aircraft is listed as a broad incumbent. Solar Impulse Foundation (Solarstratos) is listed as an others.
Does Electra Solar have an API?
No public API is recorded for Electra Solar.
What industry is Electra Solar in?
Electra Solar's product category is Electric Aircraft Manufacturing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMABADAH, Electric & Hybrid-Electric Propulsion (eVTOL/Regional), with a secondary code of IMABAIAC, VTOL & Hybrid UAV Platforms. Its NAICS code is 334511 and its SIC code is 3721.