Future’s traffic jam solution?
Aviation enterprises backed by Hyundai and Embraer see answer in electric air taxis
SINGAPORE — As the aviation sector seeks ways to make air travel less polluting and more sustainable, aerospace company Embraer and South Korean automaker Hyundai are among the companies betting on a new form of air travel: air taxis.
Hyundai’s advanced air mobility unit Supernal and Embraer-backed Eve Air Mobility are developing electric aircraft that take off and land vertically. The idea is that such air taxis might provide a sustainable form of air transport for densely populated cities and areas with less developed public transport networks.
Experts say they could help offset carbon emissions from the traditional aviation sector, but there are plenty of technological and regulatory challenges to making air taxis commercially viable.
Falling battery prices, advancements in technology and the participation of big players like Hyundai mean that such aircraft could soon be a reality, experts say.
Supernal and Eve Air Mobility hope to officially launch electric-powered air taxis within the next two to four years.
“Ground transportation is evolving and improving, but to support all the mobility demands of … people in urban areas, ground transport will not be sufficient,” Supernal’s CEO Shin Jaiwon said. “We have to open the skies above the cities.”
Supernal’s S-A2 electric aircraft, equipped with eight rotors, is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers. The battery-powered air taxi will have a range of 25 to 40 miles. It’s similar to a helicopter but quieter and more sustainable in that it can help offset carbon emissions generated from traditional air travel, Shin said.
Supernal plans to test its first full-scale technology demonstration version in California this year and is in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration and the EU’s aviation safety agency about policies and certification issues.
Supernal and Singapore’s civil aviation authorities and officials in economic development formed a partnership this week to jointly develop the advanced air mobility sector in terms of research and regulatory frameworks.
Brazilian firm Eve Air Mobility, a spinoff of aircraft manufacturer Embraer, also is developing an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft it hopes to launch by 2026.
Like Supernal’s S-A2, the Eve Air Mobility aircraft is also expected to carry four to six passengers up to 60 miles without generating any local carbon emissions.
For now, the air taxi industry and other forms of air mobility still have hurdles to cross, such as the battery costs, devising new regulatory and safety frameworks for such travel, and certifying such aircraft.
With suitable regulatory changes, the technology has developed to the point, however, where air taxis are feasible, said Brendan Sobie, an independent aviation analyst based in Singapore.
“There’s the feasibility of operating in various environments, various air spaces, various cities and urban environments,” Sobie said.
Supernal’s Shin acknowledged that battery costs are still high for vehicles like air taxis. “However, as battery technologies continue to improve and further develop over time, we believe that manufacturing will also be improved and developed, so the overall cost of making such vehicles will be going down,” he said.