The Allplane Podcast #86 - with Vaeridion founder and CEO, Ivor van Dartel
Ivor van Dartel left the comfort and security of a corporate job at Airbus to develop an all-electric battery-powered aircraft.
Munich-based Vaeridion is one of the most promising players in the emerging field of electric aviation. The 9-seater, 500km-range electric aircraft that Ivor’s team is working on is designed to shuttle travellers, carbon-free, across the sort of short to medium range distances that nowadays are often covered by road transport.
Launching a new aircraft from scratch is, of course, a formidable and very capital intensive endeavour, but the advent of new propulsion technologies opens a blue ocean of opportunities for those willing to take on the challenge.
With the electric aviation scene gathering momentum, I thought it was the right time to touch base with Ivor and find out more about the background of this project, his own personal motivations to lead it and the milestones and perspectives ahead of the Vaeridion team.
Tune in for an inspiring tale of entrepreneurship as well as a glimpse of what could be future of air mobility in years to come!
Download this episode from:
Apple Podcasts / iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts or Stitcher
Things we talk about in this episode:
Ivor’s academic and professional background
How and why Ivor decided to launch an electric flight startup
What is Vaeridion and what problem is it trying to solve
Why there is a massive opportunity for electric aviation in regional mobility
Where is the Vaeridion project now and what are the milestones ahead
Resources:
Fokker, the Dutch aerospace company Ivor mentions
TU Delft, Ivor’s alma mater
Wubbo Ockels, the Dutch astronaut that was a professor at TU Delft
Otto Lilienthal, the German glider pioneer
Several Airbus projects Ivor mentions:
Airbus E-fan X project, in which Ivor worked
Podcast episode with Eviation’s CEO
Podcast episode with Dutch electric aviation entrepreneur Josef Mouris
Podcast episode with Avinor (Norway) sustainability manager
Norway’s aviation sustainability strategy
Events Ivor mentions:
BDLI (German Aerospace Industries Association)
How does the Vaeridion concept aircraft looks like:
Podcast Music: Five Armies by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3762-five-armies
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Interview Transcript:
(please note that, although we strive to make it as close as possible to the original recording, the transcript may not be 100% accurate)