Airside operations
Right: Volocopter’s VoloPort solution is a ready-made, compact and independent urban vertiport concept.
Opposite page: Singapore’s first Skyports vertiport is due to open in 2024.
as straightforward as possible. And here, too, there is evidence that operators are finding success. Liaising closely with airports and city officials, manufacturers are banking on a future where hopping on an eVTOL is as simple as catching a train – with potentially monumental ramifications for global aviation.
A flying start
The aviation industry has been talking about eVTOLs for years. As far back as 2009, Nasa showcased a single-person rendering of the machines, a presentation which soon went viral. Yet, speak to Ankit Dass and it is clear that these machines have only genuinely come of age in the very recent past. “I would say that from 2020 onwards, there’s been a lot more momentum,” says Dass, CTO at Skyports, a London aerial mobility company. “Companies are a lot more recognisable now, and are testing more products.”
According to work by Research Dive, the global eVTOL industry is expected to reach $4.2bn by 2033, representing yearly growth of 29.6%. That is echoed by the rise of a number of companies. In the US, for example, Archer Aviation lately announced an eVTOL deal with United Airlines worth $1bn. In the UK, Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace is supplying 100 machines to Japan Airlines, with another 100 going to AirAsia.
This expansion can be understood in several ways – most notably in the form of upgrades in eVTOL technology itself. As a spokesperson for Volocopter, a German eVTOL manufacturer, explains, the past decade has seen significant advances everywhere from chassis materials to battery power. All this has important consequences in the real world. The latest eVTOL prototypes, such as Volocopter’s VoloCity model, can now fly for over 20 miles without needing to be recharged. Access to light and high-strength composites, for their part, ensures that eVTOLs can take off vertically with ease. At the same time, manufacturers are using technology to boost the
Future Airport /
www.futureairport.com
sustainability of their machines. Beyond the obvious environmental benefits of rechargeable batteries, Volocopter has, for instance, developed special rotors that keep noise pollution low.
As that torrent of deals implies, these technical upheavals are also being accompanied by a revolution in attitudes. As Dass puts it, distributors are “getting so much recognition”. Yet if the eVTOL aircraft itself has come into its own, that means little if they have nowhere to land, or if navigation is too dangerous. That has historically been a special challenge given many insiders see congested cities as eVTOLs’ stomping grounds. But here, too, change is – quite literally – in the air. Among other things, Dass explains how better radar technology increasingly helps eVTOLs criss-cross dense urban environments. That is overshadowed by more fundamental shifts. Until recently, the few eVTOLs that had permission to fly over towns and cities have tended to partner with traditional airports. Now, though, companies are busy investing in their own bespoke vertiports, with one city at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula hinting at what that could mean for passengers.
Enjoy the airtime
When it opens sometime in 2024, Singapore’s first Skyports vertiport will be like no other airport in history. That is clear even before the facility has been built. Renderings show no sign of looming control towers or endless runways – because individual eVTOLs only need 25m² of tarmac, this will be a decidedly bijou set-up.
These differences are sure to continue, suggests Dass, once passengers head inside. Instead of queuing to drop off their bags, or putting their coats through metal detectors, he instead imagines they will just turn up, with automated security technology flagging any would-be interlopers. Another partner in the Singapore project, Volocopter is just as eager to highlight the simplicity of these plans. “Initially,” the
$4.2bn
The estimated value of the eVTOL industry by 2033.
Research Dive 33
Volocopter
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