Volocopter, flagship of new Paris UAM cluster

One of the most prominent startups in the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) space, Volocopter has announced it will set a base in the Paris region to test its VoloCity air taxi ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In fact, and perhaps more important than the test project itself (Volocopter has already conducted such demonstration flights in cities like Dubai - see video below - before), is the set up of an embryonic urban air mobility cluster at Pontoise-Cergy airport, in the periphery of Paris.

This project is supported by some heavyweights of the French transportation industry, such as Aeroports de Paris (the publicly-listed airport operator that manages both Paris Orly and Charles de Gaulle airports, as well as several other airports internationally) and RATP (which is Paris public transportation operator, also with a large international footprint) as well as by the Choose Paris Region organisation.

Volocopter is the flagship of this project that aims to create a UAM cluster for all sort of businesses and startups covering the different functional areas of this industry. Companies interested can apply until November 13, 2020. Although it seems applications have to be fully funded, the advantages and incentives to participate are in kind rather than financial.

Germany-based Volocopter has shined so far in the UAM sector, attracting over €100M of funding, including a whooping €94M C Series investment round earlier this year.

Volocopter has not only opened advanced bookings for those that can’t wait to test its UAM technology (if interested, you can pre-book your spot and pay your €30 deposit here, while tickets last!), it has also shown its truly global ambitions. For example, just hours after announcing the Paris project, it also announced an agreement with Japan Airlines to develop its UAM services in Japan. This points towards an interesting direction, that of the integration and collaboration of UAM operators and “traditional” long distance airlines in the field of inter-modality and managing travellers journeys end to end, perhaps door to door by air at some point in a not so distant future!

If interested in this topic, you can also check my piece on CNN about the future of air taxis and how automotive brands are getting increasingly attracted to this industry.