Joby Aviation and Volocopter gave the public a vivid glimpse of what the future of aviation could look like this weekend, when both companies conducted brief demonstration flights of their electric aircraft in New York City.
The demonstration flights took place during a press conference on Sunday, during which New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city would electrify two of the three heliports located in Manhattan: the downtown heliport Manhattan and the east 34.th Street. (The third heliport is privately owned). Beta Technologies, which is also developing an electric aircraft, showed off its interoperable aircraft charging technology at the event.
The move is a big win for developers of so-called “electric vertical takeoff and landing” (eVTOL), who will likely need heavy public investment to get their commercial air taxi service off the ground by mid-decade. Some of this investment has already begun to materialize: In September, Joby announced it would locate its new aircraft factory in Dayton, Ohio, in a deal sweetened with more than $325 million in state incentives and benefits.
The eVTOL industry is benefiting from some major tailwinds, notably climate commitments from dozens of cities, including New York City, to aggressively reduce carbon emissions and transition to clean energy. New York City’s goal is to reduce emissions by 80% from the 2005 baseline by 2050, and electrifying the two heliports under its jurisdiction is one part of that.
Joby Aviation has had New York City on its mind for some time. In October last year, the company announced it would roll out its commercial service first in New York and Los Angeles, as part of a landmark “city-to-airport” service agreement with its investor Delta Airlines. Joby estimated that the service could reduce transit time from Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport to just seven minutes.
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