eVTOL

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Vertical Aerospace has pre-orders for around 1,000 of its electric VA-X4 vertical takeoff aircraft.
• Most Americans support expanding solar and wind energy, but there’s a significant partisan split.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

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.
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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.

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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Volocopter, an electric air taxi startup backed by Daimler, had its urban flight debut during a presentation at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.
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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.
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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.
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