Driving the Safe Integration of eVTOL Platforms into the National Airspace: eVTOL Technology USA 2024 will be an excellent opportunity to access the latest technology in the market, share common challenges, and discuss opportunities and innovations.

As one of the latest innovations in aviation and transportation technology, eVTOLs are instrumental in a new movement toward Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), both in their operational usage for passenger movement, as well as cargo transport between urban, suburban and rural areas. With the potential to encompass the future of vertical flight, eVTOLs represent the next frontier in air travel, and as such, it is crucial to bring together the AAM community to discuss the latest developments and opportunities in the field, and contribute towards the safe and efficient integration of future eVTOLs.

Drawing on knowledge shared by leading eVTOL experts from key US, and International organizations, eVTOL Technology USA will facilitate fruitful discussions on eVTOL priorities, challenges and solutions in its entirety, offering a truly holistic agenda with a wide-range of presentations seeking to enable the community to access the latest design, innovation and certification developments in the sector.

This conference will be a catalyst to furthering these internationally important topics, promoting dedicated discussions, networking and passing knowledge to enhance the approach, analysis, and solutions to enable the safe integration of eVTOLs in the US and International airspace.

Archer Aviation Inc. a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, today announced the FAA issued for public inspection the final airworthiness criteria for Archer’s Midnight aircraft. This significant regulatory milestone provides the solidified path for Archer to achieve Type Certification for Midnight. Archer is one of two companies in the world to achieve this certification progress with the FAA for an eVTOL aircraft.

The finalization of Archer’s airworthiness criteria unlocks the ability for Archer to work with the FAA to obtain the remaining final approvals on its certification and test plans. This is a critical step as Archer continues to ramp up its “for credit” testing with the FAA and prepares to begin its piloted flight testing later this year.

“Midnight is one giant step closer to taking passengers into the sky in the coming years in the U.S. The final airworthiness criteria for Midnight is an important step on our journey to make electric flying taxis an everyday reality,” said Billy Nolen, Archer Chief Regulatory Affairs Officer and former Administrator of the FAA. “Thank you to the team at the FAA for their continued hard work in support of making the electrification of aviation a reality.”

Textron eAviation’s full-scale technology demonstrator for the Nexus eVTOL aircraft is starting to take shape.

Textron eAviation’s full-scale technology demonstrator for the Nexus eVTOL aircraft is starting to take shape at the company’s Wichita headquarters. The Nexus team recently finished connecting the two halves of the aircraft’s fuselage, or the central section of the aircraft that contains the passengers, crew, and cargo.

Announcing the milestone on May 30, Textron eAviation also released the first photo of its progress on the technology demonstrator, along with a time-lapse video of the build. Other than some digital renderings of its new design, the company hasn’t shown off its work on the Nexus since it took over the program from Bell Textron, the helicopter-making division of its parent company Textron Inc. in 2022.

“Since the formation of Textron eAviation, the team has been focused on vehicle design, performance confirmation and the build of our first full-scale technology demonstrator to test the control and functionality of the aircraft,” said Textron eAviation president and CEO Kriya Shortt. “It is rewarding to see the vehicle begin to take shape, and achieving fuselage assembly on the demonstrator is a major step in the aircraft’s development.”

Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft are one of the hottest segments of the aerospace industry, with legacy manufacturers and startups scrambling to develop a variety of urban air taxis and delivery drones. The new breed of vehicles are designed to rise into the air like a helicopter and fly using wing-borne lift like an airplane.

Compared with helicopters, eVTOLs generally use more rotors spinning at a lower speed, making them both safer and quieter. However, developing lightweight, yet powerful batteries is a big challenge.

The Utah Department of Transportation is pushing Utah into the future by taking steps to integrate vertiports around the state.

Paul Damron, the advanced air mobility manager for UDOT said a vertiport is like a heliport, but for the new era of transportation that’s coming; air taxis.

According to Damron, vertiports will essentially function like an Uber or a Lyft. Users will use an app where they can put in their travel plans and pay.

“The first vertiport will be a location that electric vertical landing and takeoff aerial vehicles can land within communities and get us closer to our destinations and get us off of the congested roads,” Darmon told Dave and Dujanovic.

There’s absolutely nothing ‘normal’ about the electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft from Horizon Aircraft but a large-scale model prototype has just made its first flight.

The Horizon Cavorite X7 can take off and land vertically using 16 electric fans mounted in the wing and canard, then transition to forward flight like a normal aeroplane.

Once the Cavorite X7 reaches a certain height and 115km/hr airspeed, the fans are covered by sliding panels. For landing the fans can be deployed or the aircraft can land on a normal runway.

The designers of what is planned to be Australia’s first certified advanced air mobility aircraft say technology and safety go hand in hand.

Safety was at the forefront of Andrew Moore’s thinking when he set out to design and build an Australian advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft.

The aircraft would be in the spotlight as an Australian first and Moore knew a key market in his sights, medical transport, would demand the highest levels of reliability.

At the same time, the electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle would need to have strong economic and ecological advantages.

It’s a balance Moore believes he has struck in Vertiia, which earlier this year became the first Australian-made AAM aircraft to apply for Civil Aviation Safety Authority type certification.

The eVTOL has been under development for several years by AMSL Aero, the NSW company Moore co-founded with Google executive Siobhan Lyndon.

Some of the key design objectives are to be able to accommodate 5 people with a range of 1,000 km using a hydrogen fuel cell to power its 8 electric engines and a cruise speed of 300 km/h (160 kt).

Although the aircraft has been pitched initially at the medical transport market – particularly in rural, regional and remote Australia – there are also air taxi, cargo and other emergency service possibilities.

The Vertiia is part of a new breed of aircraft aiming for zero operational carbon emissions and a smaller noise footprint compared to conventional aircraft.

Cuberg, a Northvolt subsidiary at the forefront of new technology development in the battery sector, has today published a validation report of its first-generation lithium-metal battery module. The results are a testament to the exceptional performance of Cuberg’s lithium-metal technology and represent the world’s first third-party validation of a lithium-metal battery module.

Designed to fulfil the operating requirements of a fully electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the lithium-metal module is capable of providing high discharge rates, at low weight, with consistent performance over hundreds of missions.

Featuring 60 lithium-metal 20 Ah pouch cells, the battery module was validated using flight profiles representative of an eVTOL aircraft. As detailed in the report, the module performed 692 cycles before reaching capacity retention of 90% and demonstrated specific energy of 284.8 Wh/kg — performance never before achieved with lithium-metal technology.

The high specific energy of the module translates to increased flight range which, in turn, enables multiple use cases for electric aviation. High specific energy would enable operators to choose between longer cruise times or heavier payloads — both of which expand the opportunities for eVTOL businesses cases.

Shauna McIntyre, CEO Cuberg, comments: “Our mission is to push the boundaries of what’s possible with battery technology. The validation of our first lithium-metal module marks a milestone in our journey towards commercial lithium-metal battery solutions. With a focus on performance, safety and reliability, we’re committed to accelerating the adoption of electrification across new market segments and accelerating the transition to a cleaner future.”

German air electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Lilium has taken another step toward securing funding it needs to push its battery-fueled jet toward commercialization, with the announcement that German officials have resumed work toward freeing up €100 million ($108 million) in loans to the company.

Lilium said Wednesday that Germany’s federal government and that of Bavaria had commissioned state development bank KfW to conduct due diligence on the company – a requisite for loan clearance. The news effectively jump-started efforts that had appeared to stall in late April. At that time, the eVTOL startup reacted negatively to the unexpected setback with veiled threats it would look for financing elsewhere.

US electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) developer Archer Aviation has opened its battery production plant in California.

S eVTOL developer Archer Aviation has opened its battery pack manufacturing site, the first of two plants the company is expected to finalise in 2024.

The company said the San Jose, California factory will produce as many as 15,000 battery packs each year. It is a highly automated plant, with tasks such as “laser cleaning and laser welding” performed by machines. The firm said it was a “automotive style” production line.

Instead of outsourcing its parts production, Archer Aviation said it wanted close control to guarantee “rigorous levels of safety, performance and reliability” in its vital battery and power delivery hardware.