The latest in the eVTOL race
eVTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing) have the potential to revolutionise transportation providing a greener alternative to conventional modes of travel and navigating around congestions issues, travel times, and noise pollution. Recently though, this sector has been described as “one of the most notable examples of the pandemic-era financial bubble – second perhaps to the crypto boom and bust – as investors sought an aerial Tesla, capable of flying passengers with zero carbon emissions for the first time.”
Despite this, there have been some exciting developments in the eVTOL race from the promise of eVTOL public transport in time for the Paris Olympics, to the continued proliferation of the vehicles across the globe.
Lilium
On 26 June, Lilium N.V., developer of the first eVTOL jet became the only eVTOL manufacturer with EASA and FAA certification basis for a powered life eVTOL aircraft. This was described by Alastair McIntosh, Lilium Chief Technology Officer as “a major step towards our goal of achieving early certification of our aircraft in key markets to support a worldwide entry into service.”
The company also recently announced a partnership with UrbanV to collaborate on vertiports in Italy and the French Riviera on 21 June. Lilium also cemented their expansion into China having singed an agreement with Heli-Eastern to jointly develop eVTOL services across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area on 19 June.
Volocopter
At the Paris Air Show, Volocopter and Groupe ADP, alongside the French Civil Aviation Authority and Paris region stressed that they will be offering eVTOL services in time for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In the announcement they assured that the services will be available to the general public as an addition to the existing public transportation system of the Paris Region. The first routes and operations for 2024 were detailed as:
Connection routes:
- Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport <> Paris-Le Bourget airport; integrating successfully into the skies of Europe’s busiest airport
- Vertiport of Austerlitz barge <> Paris Heliport, integrating a connection over the densely populated urban area of Paris
- Paris Heliport <> Airfield of Saint-Cyr-l’École (Versailles); validating the route potential for tourism use cases
Tourist round trip flights will be offered from:
- Paris Heliport
- Paris Le Bourget
Operations in Paris will begin from five vertiports and will gradually grow to cover the whole Paris region over the next decade. VoloCity aircraft, which have capacity for one pilot and one passenger, will be flying at heights below 500 m and will not be audible from ground level in urban environments.
Additionally, Volocopter was recently involved in the first eVTOL flight in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, marking another step towards adoption and commercial eVTOL operations in NEOM.
Archer Aviation
Archer Aviation recently announced progress in their strategic manufacturing partnership with Stellantis N.V. Archer’s founder and CEO, Adam Goldstein said:
“At Archer, our goal is not just to get to commercialization, but to achieve it at scale. High-volume manufacturing is critical to ensuring we can meet this goal and joining forces with one of the leading mobility companies in the world is helping us realize the once-in-a-generation opportunity we have to redefine urban transportation […] I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve already accomplished with this partnership as we continue to lead the industry in building out manufacturing capabilities.”
For more information see:
- United Airlines and Archer Aviation announce first commercial electric air taxi route
- Saudia joins the eVTOL race signing MoU with Lilium
- Delta Joins American Airlines and United Airlines in Investment in eVTOL
