Tag: Partnership
Hyundai Further Invests in Aerial Mobility Infrastructure, Partners with Urban-Air Port Ltd
Urban-Air Port Ltd and Hyundai Air Mobility (a Hyundai Motor Group division) have announced a collaboration effort to create smart mobility solutions that put people first, connect communities, and generate shared value. Hyundai has recently focused additional resources on enhancing its product line up to help usher in a more sustainable future, while offering innovative solutions to real-world mobility challenges. ...

Hyundai Further Invests in Aerial Mobility Infrastructure, Partners with Urban-Air Port Ltd

Urban-Air Port Ltd and Hyundai Air Mobility (a Hyundai Motor Group division) have announced a collaboration effort to create smart mobility solutions that put people first, connect communities, and generate shared value.
Hyundai has recently focused additional resources on enhancing its product line up to help usher in a more sustainable future, while offering innovative solutions to real-world mobility challenges. Through the process, the multinational automotive manufacturer aims to facilitate ‘Progress for Humanity’ with smart mobility solutions that vitalize connections between people and provide quality time to its customers.
To achieve this, Hyundai has partnered with Urban-Air Port Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of small. (Six Miles Across London Limited). small. consists of a group of UK based Urban DeepTech companies focusing on Future Mobility; Urban.AV (Autonomous Vehicles), Urban.MASS (Mass Transit) and Urban-Air Port. In total, Hyundai plans to invest $1.5B in UAM over the next five years to create an air vehicle and the supporting mobility ecosystem for UAM operations. Whilst vehicle development is crucial and underway, an urgent need for appropriate ground infrastructure remains one of the biggest constraints on the growing sector, according to NASA and industry leaders.
“As part of Hyundai Motor Group, our Air Mobility division is intent on supporting the development of human-centred cities through innovation,” said Dr. Jaiwon Shin, Head of Hyundai Air Mobility.
Hyundai’s and Urban-Air Port’s goals in this partnership are fully aligned – transforming cities for the better by creating a versatile infrastructure that enables future mobility, vitalises urban communities, and expands access to transportation services and the green economy. Pamela Cohn, COO of Hyundai Air Mobility, said “There is often a strong focus on the vehicles, but without coordination and investment in other parts of the ecosystem, UAM is just a flying science project. Infrastructure is one of the crucial areas of the broader ecosystem that will bring aerial mobility to communities around the world. We are excited to partner with Urban-Air Port and UK communities to explore what this infrastructure of the future will look like.”
Ricky Sandhu, CEO of Urban-Air Port said: “We are extremely proud to announce our partnership with Hyundai Air Mobility as we embark on bringing together world-class electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle OEMs, passenger and logistics service operators and our physical & digital infrastructure in our unique, flexible and sustainable turn-key “Air-OneTM” approach that we believe will help unlock and propel a clean, future UAM mobility ecosystem both here in the UK and around the world for multiple sectors.”

Off-shore floating Urban-Air Port® for Air Taxi Services. Credit // Urban-Air Port Ltd.
Hyundai Air Mobility and Urban-Air Port plan to invest in development of a full-scale prototype for live eVTOL demonstrations. Two UK cities have already signed on to support development in 2021, including what will be UK’s 1st, Coventry in the West Midlands, which will host UK City of Culture 2021 and the Commonwealth Games.
Why it’s important: This partnership highlights Hyundai’s ambition for a future mobility ecosystem by adding infrastructure to their existing industry partnerships. The Urban-Air Port® design has a 60% smaller footprint than a traditional heliport or nearest-state-of-the-art ‘vertiports’, allowing for quick and easy installation in space-limited urban sites. Its modular flat-pack structure results in a cost-effective, transportable and rapidly deployable new form of infrastructure that is impressively capable of providing both passenger/cargo processing/amenities and vehicle charging/maintenance facilities.
Source // Urban-Air Port press release
Lilium Jet to be Fitted with Toray Industries High Performance Composite Materials
Lilium, a German aerospace company developing the all-electric Lilium Jet, and Toray Industries, the world’s leading manufacturer of carbon fiber, announced that the two companies have signed an agreement for the supply of higher performance carbon fiber composite. The Lilium Jet is a five-seater, emissions-free aircraft that can take off and land vertically and is designed to provide high-speed regional...

Lilium Jet to be Fitted with Toray Industries High Performance Composite Materials

Lilium, a German aerospace company developing the all-electric Lilium Jet, and Toray Industries, the world’s leading manufacturer of carbon fiber, announced that the two companies have signed an agreement for the supply of higher performance carbon fiber composite.
The Lilium Jet is a five-seater, emissions-free aircraft that can take off and land vertically and is designed to provide high-speed regional connections of up to 300km in under 60 minutes. The aircraft’s primary structures, such as the fuselage, wings and flaps will all be made from carbon fiber.
Toray Industries is recognized as a global leader in aerospace materials and their carbon fiber products played a critical role in the success of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. “Securing this supply agreement marks an important step in the maturity of our supply chain and in our preparations for serial production,” commented Daniel Wiegand, co-founder and CEO at Lilium.
In the first instance, the material will be supplied directly to Lilium for use in the production of further technology demonstrators, before being delivered directly to suppliers who will manufacture parts for prototypes and serial production.The agreement also paves the way for further collaboration between the two companies, both in the provision of other high-performance materials and the establishment of research and development partnerships.

Photo // Lilium
Commenting on the partnership, Yves Yemsi, Chief Program Officer, Lilium said: “Toray’s wealth of experience in the world of high-performance carbon fibers and composite materials speaks for itself and we’re proud to be counted amongst the aerospace companies they supply.
“We look forward to developing a close collaboration with Toray in the years ahead and to building a resilient and agile supply chain for the Lilium Jet, together with other well-established and reliable aerospace suppliers across different fields of technology.”
Discussing the partnership, Minoru Yoshinaga, Toray Senior Vice President, General Manager of Torayca and Composites Division, said: “We are pleased to be selected as a partner by Lilium, one of the most promising companies in this emerging market sector.
“We look forward to working with Lilium to solve the environmental issues in urban areas, contributing by the power of materials.”
Lilium’s vision of air mobility encompasses a network of vertiports spread across an entire region, providing high-speed, point-to-point routes. Each additional vertiport added to the network would connect directly with all others within a 300km radius, leading to a fast scaling network that can provide regional connectivity at a fraction of the cost of traditional infrastructure such as high-speed trains. Lilium expects commercial operations to commence in 2025.

Lilium recently shared its vision of a scalable, high-speed regional transportation system for aerial mobility, capable of accommodating a variety of locations such as near existing transportation terminals, next to shopping centers, or within residential areas, similar to a bus stop. Credit // Lilium
Why its important: News of the partnership comes just weeks after Lilium confirmed it had welcomed Baillie Gifford, Tesla’s largest shareholder, as a new investor, bringing total funds raised to date to over $375m. The fresh funding will support the further development of the Lilium Jet as well as underpinning preparations for serial production in Lilium’s newly completed manufacturing facilities.
Related:
- Lilium’s Vision for a Scalable Vertiport
- Air Mobility Startup Lilium Boosts Valuation to +$1 Billion with Baillie Gifford Investment
Source // Lilium press release
Boeing and Porsche to Collaborate on Luxury Personal Air Vehicle
An electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) Porsche may be possible with Boeing’s help. World-class aircraft manufacturer Boeing and world-class sports car manufacturer Porsche will combine their expertise to create a brand in the aerial mobility industry targeted toward high-income individuals. The joint venture includes Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences, which will assist in the design and prototyping of a...

Boeing and Porsche to Collaborate on Luxury Personal Air Vehicle

An electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) Porsche may be possible with Boeing’s help.
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Photograph: Boeing
World-class aircraft manufacturer Boeing and world-class sports car manufacturer Porsche will combine their expertise to create a brand in the aerial mobility industry targeted toward high-income individuals. The joint venture includes Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences, which will assist in the design and prototyping of a luxury personal vehicle. As announced on October 10, the memorandum of understanding between Boeing and Porsche describes their plan to explore technologies for “premium personal urban air mobility vehicles.”
As part of the partnership, the companies will create an international team to address various aspects of urban air mobility, including analysis of the market potential for premium vehicles and possible use cases. Boeing, Porsche, and Aurora Flight Sciences are also developing a concept for a fully electric VTOL aircraft. Engineers from both companies, as well as Porsche subsidiaries Porsche Engineering Services GmbH and Studio F.A. Porsche, will implement and test a prototype.
Since Boeing’s acquisition of Aurora Flight Sciences in 2017, the two have been working together to develop and test various eVTOL prototypes, including the Passenger Air Vehicle (PAV) and the Cargo Air Vehicle (CAV).
Related: Boeing’s Autonomous Cargo Drone Takes Flight

Boeing’s most recent iteration of the PAV made its first flight in Manassas, VA at the beginning of 2019, completing a takeoff, hover, and landing flight profile.
“Porsche is looking to enhance its scope as a sports car manufacturer by becoming a leading brand for premium mobility. In the longer term, this could mean moving into the third dimension of travel,” stated Detlev von Platen, member of the executive board for sales and marketing at Porsche AG, in a press release. “We are combining the strengths of two leading global companies to address a potential key market segment of the future.”
According to Steve Nordlund, vice president and general manager of Boeing’s innovation division, Boeing NeXt, the collaboration with Porsche “builds on our efforts to develop a safe and efficient new mobility ecosystem, and provides an opportunity to investigate the development of a premium urban air mobility vehicle with a leading automotive brand. Porsche and Boeing together bring precision engineering, style, and innovation to accelerate urban air mobility worldwide.”
Related: Boeing and Safran Announce Joint Investment in Electric Power Systems
Why it’s important: Much of the innovation and development in the aerial mobility industry has been geared toward commercial applications that will be leased or owned by operators. While the technology will ultimately grow fastest and see widespread use through commercialization, personal luxury vehicles have great potential to provide manufacturers with necessary revenue, through fewer high price tag sales, for expansion and further technological development. Aerial mobility may also benefit from a public acceptance standpoint if personal vehicles begin to enter the airspace prior to the high-volume operation of “airlines” such as Uber Air.
Source // Boeing
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