The first eVTOL airport arrives in the UK with the collaboration of Hyundai and the challenge of convincing the skeptics

On By Garmin Philip

Although some may consider eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) as one of those devices that will never be implemented, the truth is that little by little we are glimpsing advances that can make them a reality.


And one of the most pressing problems for these city flights is the lack of landing and take-off infrastructure in interesting spaces for its potential travelers. They want to solve the same thing in the United Kingdom, where the first urban airport for air taxis can be visited.

A project in which Hyundai is also involved

This center will be the first fully operational space for the management of air taxis, drones and other eVLOTs that help manage the fluid traffic of people and goods. It can be visited in the city of Coventry from next April and the start-up has taken part in its development Urban-Air Port Ltd (UAP) who has obtained financing from Supernal, an evolution of Hyundai’s Urban Air Mobility Division, which was unveiled during CES 2020 and is highly interested in eVTOL development.

One of the biggest challenges facing eVTOLs is related to the necessary ground infrastructure. If cities do not have a space dedicated to this use in places of interest, it is very difficult for this new means of transport to develop.. However, since Electric Vehicles Research point out that only 3% of the investments of the industry dedicated to the development of eVTOLs were aimed at the construction of these spaces. In other words, barely 150 million of the almost 5,000 million that are estimated to move the entire industry were dedicated.

The urban transport service with eVTOL is already a reality: this is how Neom, the new Saudi Smart city, will be equipped with a tailor-made one

But, in addition, this urban airport for eVTOL has another objective: to convince skeptics that this new means of transport is a real alternative to the car or the train. From Urban-Air Port they talk about eVTOL being an opportunity to decongest traffic, improve air quality and decarbonise transport. In fact, one of his projects, called City Box, aims to offer an urban space for delivery drones that facilitate the transport of goods.

Regarding its operability, Supernal aspires to work on this type of eVTOL flights for commercial purposes in 2028. By then he wants to have obtained enough partners to guarantee the viability of the project and the minimum structures that make the use of this type of service attractive.

Photo | Hyundai



Reference-www.xataka.com