Germany’s eVTOL startup Lilium and Customcells are ramping up production of high-silicon battery cells to get ready for certification. The battery company is now delivering cells from its plant in the German town of Tübingen every week and will produce thousands of cells per year in the future.
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Finnish energy company Fortum and the low-carbon flight specialists from ZeroAvia want to explore developing hydrogen production and refuelling infrastructure at airports. The Memorandum of Understanding mentions a network of zero-emission flight routes.
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Energica Motor Company is getting ready for takeoff. The Italian motorbike manufacturer, a subsidiary of the US group Ideanomics, wants to develop “all-electric solutions for ultra-light and light aircraft.”
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The Chinese air taxi start-up Autoflight has signed a contract with the company Evfly for an initial 205 of its electric air taxis. Evfly specialises in the operation of eVTOLs and their fleet management and is ordering an unspecified mix of the ‘Prosperity I’ and ‘Prosperity Cargo’ models.
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Chinese air taxi startup Autoflight announces what it claims is the world’s longest eVTOL flight to date. Its electric flying cab, ‘Prosperity I’, allegedly covered a distance of 250 kilometres without stopping to charge. The flying taxi is scheduled for certification in 2025.
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US company Universal Hydrogen has completed the first flight of a 40-seat regional aeroplane powered by hydrogen fuel cell power. The ATR 72 regional aircraft was converted to run on hydrogen.
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Solid-state batteries for electric aircraft are the focus of new cooperation between two Belgian companies. Solid-state specialist Solithor and aerospace company Sonaca want to develop solid-state lithium cells for regional aviation and urban air mobility (UAM).
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The joint project ‘HyNEAT – Hydrogen Supply Networks’ Evolution for Air Transport’ will be researching supply networks for hydrogen-powered aviation over the next three years. The focus is on green hydrogen and its cost-effective production and transport.
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Nidec Leroy-Somer has been contracted by Airbus to develop electric motors for a future hydrogen-electric propulsion system. The prototypes are to meet “very high requirements in terms of safety, reliability, energy efficiency and weight”.
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ZeroAvia, a company specialising in electric aircraft propulsion, announced a cooperation with Shell and Rotterdam Airport. The partners want to prepare for commercial passenger flights with H2 aircraft from 2025.
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PowerCell is developing the next generation of fuel cells for aviation as part of the EU’s Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking. The Swedish specialist has joined the ‘Newborn’ project, which aims to develop a megawatt-class fuel cell propulsion system for aircraft.
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Powered by four electric motors with a total output of 100 kW, the Pelican Cargo by Pyka is said to be the largest autonomous electric aircraft to date. The model has a payload of 400 pounds and a range of 200 miles, or 181 kilograms up to 320 kilometres.
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In Germany, H2FLY, a company developing hydrogen fuel cell systems for aircraft, has announced the construction of a facility called the Center of Excellence for Hydrogen in Aviation. The facility is to be located at Stuttgart Airport and is scheduled to open in late 2024.
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XPeng’s flying car subsidiary XPeng Aeroht has received a conditional flight permit from the authorities in China. The company says its Aeroht X2 has thus become the first crewed eVTOL to obtain such a permit in China.
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The development of take-off and landing sites for vertically taking off and landing electric aircraft such as air taxis and drones is the goal of a new cooperation between Siemens and Skyway. To this end, both companies want to determine the electrical and digital infrastructure required to operate such vertiports.
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ZeroAvia, an electric aircraft propulsion specialist, has achieved the next milestone as the company announces the maiden flight of its testbed hydrogen aircraft HyFlyer II. The plane took off from Cotswold Airport in England and remains the world’s largest hydrogen-electric aircraft.
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The US startup Aska has landed a prototype at CES. The Aska A5 is a “flying car” that is an electric VTOL with a significant range while capable of driving on the ground. The company has opened pre-orders and is confident to launch in 2026.
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Stellantis and the Californian flying taxi start-up Archer Aviation have announced a significant expansion of their partnership. They will now join forces to manufacture Archer’s Midnight, the electric VTOL the young company debuted a few months ago.
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The German company H2FLY, which specialises in the development of hydrogen fuel cell systems for aircraft, is taking over project management in the HEAVEN project. The project will test the first passenger aircraft flying on liquid hydrogen (LH2) in 2023.
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The German electric air-taxi start-up Lilium has closed a financing round of 119 million US dollars. Participants in the investment round included existing shareholders, strategic partners, and new investors.
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TotalEnergies, Groupe ADP and the Fédération Française Aéronautique (FFA) have agreed to install charging stations for electric aircraft at three airfields in the Ile-de-France region. The partnership includes the first phase of installation of four charging stations in spring 2023.
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H3Dynamics from Toulouse, France, has presented a decentralised hydrogen propulsion solution for aviation. The company’s concept relies on housing hydrogen and smaller fuel cells in a series of so-called propulsion nacelles under the wings, initially for drone use.
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A nine-seat regional aircraft from the Californian manufacturer Ampaire with a hybrid-electric drive system has completed its maiden flight. The Eco Caravan, based on a Cessna Grand Caravan, has a hybrid propulsion system from Ampaire with an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.
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Archer Aviation has presented the series eVTOL Midnight. The air taxi that vertically takes off and lands offers space for one pilot and four passengers, not unlike the prototype Maker. Other spec has changed, however, yet an ambitious production schedule remains.
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California’s eVTOL startup Archer has selected a site in Georgia to install its first factory in Covington, near an airfield. The United Airlines partner targets making 650 flying cabs a year from 2024 and increasing capacity significantly within ten years.
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The Australian scheduled and charter airline Northern Territory Air Services (NTAS) has signed a letter of intent with Eviation Aircraft for the purchase of 20 electric aircraft. The aircraft in question is the nine-seat Alice model.
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French startup VoltAero has raised another 32 million euros in capital. The Italian company Tesi (Tecnologie E Servizi Innovativi) became a strategic investor and industrial partner in the Series B financing round.
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Bavarian electric flight taxi startup Lilium has signed a preliminary agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Saudia airline to supply 100 units of its all-electric Lilium Jet. However, it is not yet a binding order.
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Swedish electric aircraft developer Heart Aerospace has signed a memorandum of understanding with Portuguese airline Sevenair for the sale of three units of its ES-30 hybrid-electric regional aircraft unveiled in September.
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Electric aircraft manufacturer Eviation Aircraft has received a letter of intent from Germany for 25 battery-electric feeder aircraft. Evia Aero, which is developing a sustainable regional airline, intends to use Eviation’s Alice electric aircraft.
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