Specialist
Executive at The Aviary Project
Agenda
- eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) batteries and propulsion systems assessment
- eVTOL models – personal air vehicles, multicopters, lift and cruise and tilt-rotor and tilt-wing
- Market opportunities for eVTOL, including UAM (urban air mobility) and regional networks and potential to take share from helicopters
- Competitive outlook and certification challenges
Questions
1.
You mentioned working on digitising and automating airspace and also with enabling technologies for eVTOL [electric vertical take-off and landing]. Could you explain what some of those technologies are beyond the aircraft and where players are investing to create the ecosystem in which these aircraft would operate?
2.
You highlighted this targeted commercial launch in 2025-26 for eVTOL aircraft. What timeline would you give for the development of some of this scaled-up network? What might we observe in 2025 and how long might it take to achieve more scaled and heavier-traffic eVTOL networks?
3.
Do you think eVTOL will replace helicopters as they are adopted commercially? How might the early market for eVTOL compare to the helicopter market in size and growth outlook?
4.
I’ve noticed wildly different aircraft configurations for eVTOL in the market. Could you break down the different configurations? Are they targeting different use cases or could they eventually compete for similar market share, if approved by regulators?
5.
Could you estimate the size of the regional air mobility market in 2030?
6.
Where might the eVTOL operating cost stand and how could it be brought down in the next 10 years?
7.
Where does battery technology stand today? What improvements in charging time or range are players considering making to operate these high-volume networks in the future?
8.
We’ve discussed autonomy and how it’s important for the eventual scale-up, and I know Joby had a crash in one of its test flights of an unmanned vehicle. Do you think there are challenges around regulation or demand and safety perspectives to reaching this autonomous network? What might they be?