eVTOL Stories June 14
Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) developer Overair has announced the acquisition of an additional $145 million in funding from aircraft technology specialists Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Aerospace. In addition to its continued investment, Hanwha will provide electric motors and battery packs for Overair’s Butterly eVTOL prototypes, which remain on track to take to the sky next year.
eVTOL Stories May 17
Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) developer Overair announced a partnership with Urban Movement Labs (UML) to help expedite urban air mobility (UAM) in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The partnership is one of several with UML to collaborate with the city of Los Angeles to eventually implement eVTOL technology.
eVTOL Stories March 10
Nascent eVTOL racing league, Airspeeder, has announced its fourth pilot to join, and it’s Bruno Senna – a former Formula One and Formula E racing driver, current member of Rebellion Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and eSports World eX Championship winner. Senna joins as a development pilot, bringing his racing expertise to the league before its first Grand Prix begins in 2023.
eVTOL Stories February 17
Following teaser footage of its “Prosperity I” eVTOL shared in January, AutoFlight has released a five minute video showing much more of its all-electric air-taxi in action. The newly released video features the eVTOL completing a vertical takeoff, transitioning to rear propulsion, and gliding forward before switching back to its top propellers and landing vertically.
eVTOL Stories February 7
Swedish eVTOL developer Jetson AB has shared more footage of its upcoming Jetson ONE aerial vehicle flying over water. At the request of an overload of comments on its social channels, Jetson also shared footage (albeit briefly) of its ONE eVTOL taking off, to showcase how simple the process is. Following a massive demand, Jetson’s founders are already teasing additional flying vehicles to come.
eVTOL Stories January 27
AutoFlight has grown one step closer to passenger flights in its eVTOL air taxi by introducing a proof of concept version called “Prosperity I,” alongside a first look at the eVTOL in the air. Additionally, AutoFlight has posted teaser footage of “Prosperity I” transitioning from vertical takeoff rotors to horizontal flight while in the air.
eVTOL Stories January 25
Wisk Aero, the California-based eVTOL company from Google co-founder Larry Page, recently announced a $450 million funding boost from The Boeing Company to further develop its Cora, an electric VTOL aircraft that the company plans to get type-certified with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as an autonomous, all-electric, air taxi.
eVTOL Stories January 22
The venture capital arm of the Lockheed Martin Corporation invested in Electra, Inc.’s Series A funding round last week, giving the company’s electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft concept a double injection of cash, and credibility.
eVTOL Stories January 19
The air-taxi infrastructure hopefuls at Skyportz have expanded their plans to provide eVTOL takeoff and landing sites throughout Australia by partnering an with airport and parking garage that’s looking for a new lifeline.
eVTOL Stories January 18
Chinese eVTOL developer AutoFlight is showcasing its global expansion by officially entering Europe. The company has set up shop at Augsburg Airport in Germany, as it now seeks to to achieve certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for its “Prosperity I” eVTOL taxi. The certification program will begin this year and is expected to be completed by 2025.
eVTOL Stories January 17
Infant eVTOL racing league, Airspeeder, has publicly announced its first three pilots ahead of its remotely operated EXA Series of Grand Prix taking place in 2022, followed by a crewed racing series in 2023. The first three eVTOL pilots come from different racing backgrounds and represent a new future of “flying car” racing.
eVTOL Stories January 10
Chinese company EHang has opened a new, 5G enabled, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vertiport and maintenance facility in Guangzhou, China – it’s just the latest new project in China’s “official” urban air mobility (UAM) test city.
eVTOL Stories December 1, 2021
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) developer Volocopter announced a joint venture with the sustainable development of NEOM in Saudi Arabia to design, implement, and operate the world’s first bespoke public eVTOL mobility system. The initial order is for 15 Volocopter aircraft that will begin initial operation in the next two to three years.
eVTOL Stories November 4, 2021
Newly formed eVTOL racing league Airspeeder has successfully completed its first competitive drag race in South Australia. The drag race put two teams from Alauda Aeronautics head-to-head as a development series, ahead of eVTOL Grand Prix in 2022 and a global Airspeeder racing series in 2023.
eVTOL Stories October 29, 2021
Relatively young eVTOL developer Autoflight announced it has successfully completed the first flight of its V1500M four-passenger aircraft. This electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vessel is equipped with autonomous technology and can currently travel 250 km (155 miles) on a single charge. Autoflight will seek certification for this eVTOL in China, alongside its other electrified aerial vehicles, as the country continues to push the commercialization of urban air mobility (UAM).
eVTOL Stories October 22, 2021
Swedish eVTOL startup Jetson has officially unveiled its Jetson ONE personal electric aerial vehicle. After a successful prototype in 2018, Jetson has created a consumer-grade version of the ONE eVTOL that has already sold out its limited production run for 2022 and is now taking orders for 2023.
eVTOL Stories October 21, 2021
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) specialist Volocopter recently announced it has joined the Osaka Roundtable with the goal of bringing its eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) technology to Japan. Volocopter has also committed to showcasing its flight technology during Expo 2025 Osaka Kansai. With an order already in place from its investor, Japan Airlines, Volocopter looks to begin public test flights of its eVTOL vehicles in Japan as early as 2023.
eVTOL Stories September 15, 2021
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) specialist Volocopter has recently announced a partnership with Urban Movement Labs (UML) to explore the potential of implementing UAM solutions in the Los Angeles area. This partnership marks Volocopter’s first step in bringing its eVTOL technology to the US, including its VoloCity air taxi.
eVTOL Stories June 11, 2021
In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):
eVTOL Stories May 26, 2020
There’s currently a race to create the first air taxi service using electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) and a new serious player has entered the race: Archer. expand full story
eVTOL Stories April 11, 2020
The Formula E electric-vehicle racing series was conceived in 2011. Nearly a decade later, EVs are well on the way to mass commercialization. Airspeeder, the first motorsports program for electric flying cars, this week announced raising a seven-figure sum to launch its series. Founders of the flying EV series believe it could accelerate progress toward mainstream sustainable, electric air mobility.
eVTOL Stories March 16, 2020
eHang just got its operational permit for its eHang 216 in Norway and Spain. The Chinese aviation startup hopes to develop its presence in Europe and create future flight routes. expand full story
eVTOL Stories March 2, 2020
The first prototype of the Lilium Jet eVTOL aircraft out of two was destroyed in a fire. It will be replaced by the only one left in the flight-test program. expand full story
eVTOL Stories February 27, 2020
It will take months to figure the extent of the catastrophic Coronavirus outbreak. To help fight off the Covid-19 epidemic, eHang is lending its eVTOL for medical relief. expand full story
eVTOL Stories January 7, 2020
Uber and Hyundai partnered on a new electric air taxi and unveiled a new eVTOL electric aircraft with a 60-mile (100 km) range and a cruising speed up to 180 mph (290 km/h). expand full story
eVTOL Stories September 16, 2019
Volocopter, an electric air taxi startup backed by Daimler, had its urban flight debut during a presentation at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. expand full story
eVTOL Stories July 17, 2018
The growing space of VTOL personal electric aircraft has got yet another entry from a new startup. This latest working prototype of a new ultralight all-electric personal VTOL aircraft has about 25 miles of range. expand full story
eVTOL Stories February 1, 2018
There’s now a lot of money flowing into all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Joby Aviation, a startup based in California, announced today that it secured $100 million in funding from some major investors. expand full story
eVTOL Stories August 10, 2017
Advancements in battery technology are slowly starting to enable all-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft and now Daimler is betting on a startup to bring them to market. expand full story
eVTOL Stories April 25, 2017
If you are wondering how come there are so many news and announcement about electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft lately, like Lilium’s maiden flight and Kitty Hawk coming out of stealth, it looks like it’s because they timed the releases with Uber’s Elevate Summit in Dallas this week.
Today, Uber announced its own plans to use eVTOL aircraft for a flying taxi service. expand full story
