The aircraft uses on-board lithium-ion batteries to power the two electric motors and can carry one pilot and one passenger.

A test flight was conducted in April 2014 at Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport, France, landing in front of a large audience, the French Minister of Industry Arnaud Montebourg being one of them.

[1] The E-fan is of all-composite construction and is propelled by two ducted, variable-pitch fans spun by two electric motors totaling 60 kW of power.

The motors moving the fans are powered by a series of 250-volt Lithium polymer battery packs made by South Korean company Kokam.

VoltAir, an Airbus subsidiary, developed the initial prototype and worked with Daher-Socata during the testing phase as the project manager.

[1] On 30 April 2015 the company announced that the aircraft would be produced at Pau Pyrénées Airport, south-west France, at a new facility, that would be near the DAHER-SOCATA plant at Tarbes.

[7][8] In April 2017 Airbus cancelled production of the E-Fan, preferring to concentrate on a proposed hybrid-electric, regional jet-sized aircraft, with an initial service date of 2030.