08 May 2022 || 4 min read

Airbus, developer of the CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL, has set up partnerships with governments and other key stakeholders in Germany to soon begin conducting demonstration flights and eventually offer full aerial mobility services between major cities in the area.

Above: A CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL travels above the streets of Munich, Germany

Earlier this week, Airbus announced the creation of its air mobility initiative in Germany, which includes members such as the City of Ingolstadt, and companies like Deutsche Bahn (DB), Deutsche Flugsicherung, Diehl Aerospace, Droniq, Munich Airport, Red Cross, and Telekom. The initiative, which is being referred to as the ‘Air Mobility Initiative’ (AMI) is supported by the Free State of Bavaria and the Federal Republic of Germany.

The purpose of the initiative is to ‘set up a series of research projects aimed at making urban air mobility within and between cities in Germany a reality’. According to Airbus, the joint projects are centered around three main areas: electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft development, unmanned traffic management (UTM) services, and airport & city integration including vertiports.

Said Markus May, Head of Operations for urban air mobility at Airbus: “In many parts of the world, eVTOLs will offer a whole new mobility service in the near future. Airbus and the AMI partners are aware that the introduction of such a system requires the cooperation of many players with different competences. Our goal is to build a transport service that benefits society and this is what we are setting up here in Bavaria.”

Above: Rendering of the CityAirbus NextGen eVTOL

The AMI partners will begin the initiative by addressing the technological, infrastructural, legal, and social prerequisites for the future implementation of advanced air mobility in Bavaria. Subsequently, the knowledge gained will be applied to demonstration flights with the CityAirbus eVTOL aircraft under real urban conditions. Work on this project began in January of 2022, with test flights of the demonstration project set to be carried out in the region around Ingolstadt.

So far, the AMI is funded with a total of €17 million from the Free State of Bavaria and €24 million from the Federal Government. Airbus says that together with the industry’s own funds, this results in a total investment of about €86 million in the project over a period of three years.

Why it’s important: With this latest German initiative, Airbus adds to its eVTOL rollout plans throughout Europe. Just last week, Airbus announced a partnership with Italian ITA Airways to begin setting up eVTOL air mobility infrastructure in Italy as well. Although Airbus took its time developing its final aircraft concept, the company is now using its global prestige to begin setting up eVTOL aerial mobility infrastructure throughout the European region.

Source // Airbus

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