Emergency eVTOLs, funding rounds & more (The Allplane Newsletter #161)
Advanced Air Mobility
Two eVTOL developers got fresh capital:
EVE raised an additional $94 million (mostly from existing investors).
Archer got an extra $55 million from carmarker and partner Stellantis.
A new eVTOL startup, Munich-based ERC System, this one, like Switzerland’s Dufour, is focusing on the emergency services segment, with a special design to answer to the needs of this sector. READ.
Picture: ERC System
Chinese airlines are following in the footsteps of some of its Western counterparts and entering into partnerships with eVTOL developers. China Southern, in particular, has signed a deal with EHang to start offering some tourist flights in Zhuhai. The deal is dependent on EHang getting its own air operator certificate. READ.
This one is a few weeks old but I had somehow missed it! Looks like, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK) wants to have its own eVTOL sector too!
(Ras Al-Khaimah, btw, is the gateway to the Musandam peninsula, an exclave of Oman, which is one of the most fascinating spots in the whole region, as I had the chance to explain on CNN).
Hydrogen Aviation
Universal Hydrogen is no more. Startups are hard and trying to redefine a whole industry like aviation, even more. So, after burning through $100M and being unable to find new investors, Universal Hydrogen is closing down.
We had one of its co-founders, Jason Chua, on the podcast in the early days. You can listen to that episode here to learn more about Universal Hydrogen’s very innovative approach to sorting out the hydrogen distribution problem.
The positive news in the hydrogen space is that American Airlines is moving ahead with its (pre-agreed) purchase of 100 of ZeroAvia’s powertrains. Wondering whether the timing of the announcement (right after the Universal Hydrogen’s demise) is a not too veiled endorsement to reassure the hydrogen aviation community. READ.
Other interesting aviation stories
A new helicopter airline starting up in Greece to connect several islands to Athens.
China’s AVIC has started production of its very large AG600 seaplane.
Airbus released a series of videos to showcase the A330neo:
