Archer Aviation landed a $215-million equity investment from industry leaders Stellantis, Boeing and United Airlines, as well as other financial institutions, including ARK Invest, increasing the company’s total funding to more than $1.1 billion to date. This investment round includes an acceleration of $70 million from Stellantis under the strategic... Read more →

Boeing subsidiary Wisk Aero recently completed the public demonstration flight of a fully autonomous, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL), fixed-wing air taxi. The milestone flight, which took place at EAA AirVenture, also marked the company’s first public demonstration of its 5th Generation autonomous, eVTOL technology demonstrator (Cora). Wisk completed... Read more →

UK-based engineering specialist Equipmake provided an advanced electric propulsion unit (EPU) for Vertical Aerospace’s prototype eVTOL aircraft. Recently completing the first full-scale untethered eVTOL flights in the UK, the VX4 prototype features a totally bespoke EPU from Equipmake, combining a lightweight, power-dense electric motor with a high-performance inverter, designed, developed... Read more →

Archer Aviation, an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft company, has significantly expanded its partnership with the US Department of Defense (DoD) by signing new contracts with the US Air Force with a total value of up to $142 million. This new execution phase of the partnership includes the... Read more →

PLANA, a developer of hybrid advanced air mobility (AAM) eVTOL aircraft, signed a letter of intent (LOI) and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hi-Air, a South Korean commercial air carrier, to supply 30 AAM aircraft. Under the LOI, PLANA will supply its hybrid-electric AAM aircraft, CP-01, to Hi-Air from... Read more →

MagLev Aero, which recently emerged from stealth mode with its proprietary MagLev HyperDrive aero propulsion platform for eVTOL aircraft, has selected GE Additive’s AddWorks consultancy team to support the development of additive technologies and materials for the platform. MagLev Aero’s innovation enables a large rim-driven circular rotor that maximizes efficiency... Read more →

At the Paris Air Show, Safran Electronics & Defense and Archer Aviation shared details of their ongoing collaboration on avionics technology, which kicked off back in 2021. This collaboration is focused on delivering solutions to Archer that utilize Safran Electronics & Defense’s industry-leading components that have a proven track record... Read more →

Rolls-Royce announced its new small gas turbine that has been specifically developed to power hybrid-electric flight is set to begin testing. The engine is part of a turbogenerator system that is being developed for the Advanced Air Mobility market. This includes electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) Aircraft for Urban... Read more →

Archer Aviation and Stellantis N.V. will attend the 54th edition of the 2023 Paris Air Show, starting 19 June 2023, to share progress toward scaling manufacturing of Archer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft as Archer prepares for planned commercialization in 2025. (Earlier post.) Archer’s Midnight aircraft will be the featured eVTOL aircraft... Read more →

Lilium N.V., developer of an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet, has teamed with Collins Aerospace to design, develop and build the Lilium Jet’s inceptors—the sidestick system used by the pilot to control the aircraft. Collins Aerospace is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global... Read more →

Archer Aviation and United Airlines plan to launch the first air taxi route in Chicago, between O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Vertiport Chicago. Vertiport Chicago, North America’s largest vertical aircraft take off and landing facility, is located in the Illinois Medical District near the Chicago Loop. This site was selected... Read more →

Belgian solid-state Lithium battery technology company SOLiTHOR and aerospace company Sonaca signed a bilateral Memorandum of Agreement jointly to develop safe, high-density rechargeable solid-state Lithium battery systems for Regional Aircraft and Urban Air Mobility. This partnership will also expand to satellite systems as well as defense systems. This alliance will... Read more →

Hanwha Group and LG Energy Solution (LGES) will invest in building battery production facilities in the United States. The joint investment will pave the way for Hanwha to lead the rapidly-growing energy storage market and future Urban Air Mobility business. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding in Seoul... Read more →

Stellantis and Archer Aviation have agreed to expand their partnership by joining forces to manufacture Archer’s flagship electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Midnight. Stellantis will work with Archer to stand up Archer’s recently announced manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia at which the companies plan to begin manufacturing the... Read more →

Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES) will support Eve’s eVTOL development efforts (earlier post) with two distinct credit lines, totaling $92.5 million. Both credit lines are expected to offer beneficial terms and conditions to Eve with a 12-year maturity and amortization grace period. The financing is subject to the negotiation and... Read more →

Archer Aviation publicly unveiled its production aircraft, Midnight, a pilot-plus-four-passenger eVTOL aircraft during its Open House event in Palo Alto, CA. Midnight is the evolution of Archer’s demonstrator eVTOL aircraft, Maker, which has validated its proprietary twelve-tilt-six configuration and key enabling technologies. Midnight is designed to be safe, sustainable, quiet... Read more →

Archer Aviation and E-One Moli Energy Corp. (Molicel), a supplier of lithium-ion battery cells, entered into a memorandum of understanding for Molicel to manufacture and supply the battery cells for Archer’s production electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, Midnight. Archer is focused on building an aircraft tailored to the... Read more →

Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR), a developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, and Garmin, a leading provider of aviation technologies and solutions, entered into an agreement for Garmin to supply the G3000 integrated flight deck for Midnight, Archer’s production aircraft. The G3000 system is the first touchscreen-controlled... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nusantara Capital City Authority (Indonesia: Otorita Ibu Kota Nusantara, OIKN) to work together to establish an advanced air mobility (AAM) ecosystem in Indonesia. The MoU was executed during the B20 summit in Indonesia. The MoU aims to introduce AAM... Read more →

11/14/2022 The selection of the site for its manufacturing facility represents a key next step as Archer works towards its goal of being first in the industry to bring up a high-capacity production facility. Archer plans to initially build out a 350,000 square-foot facility, capable of producing up to 650... Read more →

Archer Aviation and United Airlines (NASDAQ: UAL) announced their first airport-to-city-center route between United’s hub at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and New York City. The Downtown Manhattan Heliport, located just above Battery Park on Pier 6, has been confirmed as the first planned takeoff and landing site as part... Read more →

BAE Systems and Supernal will partner to design and develop the flight control computer for Supernal’s electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) vehicle. In support of Supernal—an advanced air mobility company from Hyundai Motor Group (earlier post)—BAE Systems will help define the architecture of a lightweight, fly-by-wire system for its... Read more →

Wisk Aero, an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company, revealed the first self-flying, all-electric, four-passenger vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi. As Wisk’s go-to-market aircraft, Generation 6 represents the first candidate for type certification by the FAA of an autonomous eVTOL. Generation 6 combines autonomous technology and software, human oversight... Read more →

MintAir Co. Ltd. signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Jaunt Air Mobility LLC to form a strategic partnership and to purchase Jaunt Journey electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. MintAir has agreed to order up to 40 of Jaunt's aircraft to bring air mobility services to the Korean... Read more →

Joby Aviation, a California-based company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, announced an expansion of its existing contract with the US Air Force’s Agility Prime program that increases the contract’s potential value by more than $45 million. Agility Prime, launched in April 2020, is the Air Force’s collaborative... Read more →

Archer Aviation has received a $10-million pre-delivery payment from United Airlines for 100 of the company’s initial production eVTOL aircraft. United is making the deposit on 100 of Archer’s production aircraft which it agreed to purchase in 2021. Archer recently completed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for its production aircraft—now... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group presented the HMG Smart City master model at the 2022 World Cities Summit in Singapore. The model represents the Group’s vision for smart cities and illustrates how it will empower them with sustainable and smart mobility solutions. The model will serve as a guideline for developing smart... Read more →

Archer Aviation successfully completed all of its “critical azimuth” flight tests, marking the completion of the second of three key phases of flight testing. The purpose of these tests are to validate the crosswind capabilities of Archer’s eVTOL aircraft configuration and flight control systems. The company has now successfully flown... Read more →

Skyports Infrastructure, an Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) infrastructure developer, and AirAsia’s Advanced Air Mobility, a dedicated unit of AirAsia Aviation Group Limited (the aviation arm of Capital A), have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to explore the development of air taxi infrastructure in Malaysia. The partnership between AAM industry... Read more →

Volkswagen Group China unveiled its first electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) passenger drone prototype, as part of its strategy to explore and break new ground in fully electric and sustainable individual mobility concepts. In 2020, Volkswagen Group China launched a Vertical Mobility project to explore the next generation of... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group and Safran, the world’s second-largest aircraft equipment manufacturer, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore and identify possible opportunities in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry that would be beneficial to both parties and potential customers. The Group and Safran agreed to explore potential cooperation in various... Read more →

Sensata Technologies has developed a new fly-by-wire inceptor (sidesticks or centersticks used to direct and maneuver aircraft) for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and has provided prototypes to several advanced air mobility manufacturers. A passive inceptor is a cockpit control device through which pilot inputs are collected and... Read more →

Supernal revealed its initial eVTOL vehicle cabin concept at Farnborough International Airshow, providing the first look at how Hyundai Motor Group is integrating automotive capabilities to develop the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) market. Supernal partnered with the Group’s design studios to create the cabin concept as the company works to... Read more →

In partnership with NASA, NREL is modeling scenarios that could play out with electrified and regional air transit. The project includes evaluating how smaller airports could supply clean power to both the aircraft and the region. A map of airports in the contiguous United States, of which only 30 service... Read more →

Airbus and Munich Airport International signed a Memorandum of Understanding at ILA Berlin Air Show to start marketing turnkey solutions to cities and regions interested in developing advanced air mobility (AAM) ecosystems globally. Airbus is developing CityAirbus NextGen, its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft (earlier post), along with... Read more →

Lilium, developer of an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet, recently announced that its technology demonstrator Phoenix 2 achieved main wing transition. This means it is the first full-size electric jet aircraft to transition from hover to wing-borne flight. This is a landmark moment for Lilium and for electric... Read more →

Lilium N.V, developer of the ll-electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) Lilium Jet, and Livent Corporation, a producer of lithium products for the battery cell industry, will collaborate on the advancement of lithium-metal technology for use in high-performance battery cells. Lilium said that collaborating with Livent, a pioneer in lithium... Read more →

Lilium, developer of an all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) jet, is partnering with Honeywell and DENSO, who will co-develop and manufacture the Lilium Jet’s electric motor that will power the Lilium Jet’s engines. Honeywell is already developing the Lilium Jet’s avionics and flight control systems and invested in Lilium... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) reaffirmed its commitment to expand investment in the US to further its goal to provide sustainable and smart mobility solutions to its US. The Group’s plans, which involve an investment of more than US$10 billion, are designed to accelerate innovation and mobility electrification. Last week, Hyundai... Read more →

Archer Aviation and United Airlines have formed a joint eVTOL advisory committee. The committee is a forum for United to share its expertise on maintenance and operational matters as Archer moves forward in its aircraft development process. The committee will advise on the development of systems and features intended to... Read more →

Joby Aviation, a California-based company developing all-electric aircraft for commercial passenger service, announced the completion and subsequent approval of its first Systems Review and its first Compliance Review by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). These reviews, completed at the end of last year, were recently granted approval by the FAA,... Read more →

The Vertical Flight Society (VFS), a non-profit organization working to advance vertical flight, is holding the first public event in the United States on the use of hydrogen and fuel cells for aviation applications. The event, the 1st H2-Aero Symposium & Workshop, is being held 29-31 March 2022, in Long... Read more →

CoFlow Jet, LLC, an engineering and technology company specializing in active flow control using coflow jet (CFJ) technology for aerospace applications, has entered a Joint Ownership Agreement (JOA) with NASA to commercialize the deflected slip-stream (DSS) technology enabled by co-flow jet flow control. Jointly developed between NASA and CoFlow Jet,... Read more →

ANA Holdings and Joby Aviation are forming a partnership that will see Japan’s largest airline join with Joby to bring aerial ridesharing services to Japan. Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) also joined the partnership, with the intention of exploring opportunities such as ground-based transportation. Joby’s all-electric aircraft performing a flight test... Read more →

The exploration of airborne transportation and advanced air mobility (AAM) is the focus of a new partnership between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Supernal—an advanced air mobility company from Hyundai Motor Group (earlier post). Supernal is developing electric, autonomous air vehicles capable of accommodating four to five passengers... Read more →

Eve UAM, the urban air mobility (UAM) business created by Embraer and established as an independent company in October 2020, has entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Zanite Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company focused on the aviation sector. Upon closing of the transaction, Zanite will change... Read more →

NASA has selected four university-led teams for potential awards in the agency’s University Leadership Initiative (ULI) that will have them spend up to five years exploring novel ideas for improving aviation, including eliminating emissions and autonomy research in support of Advanced Air Mobility. Three of the four teams are working... Read more →

Archer Aviation announced that Maker, Archer’s eVTOL demonstrator aircraft (earlier post), completed its first successful hover flight. The flight marks the completion of the company’s first full and complete systems test and validation of every hardware and software component working as intended to move the aircraft into the air. The... Read more →

Element 1 Corporation has entered into a global agreement with NEXA Capital Partners LLC to accelerate the adoption of its methanol-to-hydrogen generators (earlier post) for fuel cell applications in aerospace and particularly electric vertical aircraft (EVA). Element 1 and NEXA are combining their expertise, along with NEXA’s capital market access,... Read more →

To conclude the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of Renault 4, the car maker teamed up with motion design hub TheArsenale to create a futuristic showcar, reinterpreting this iconic model. More than 8 million units of the small economy car were sold in more than 100 countries between 1961 and... Read more →