UK start-up Urban-Air Port has announced plans with the Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group to develop 65 electric urban-air ports worldwide to meet the growing demand for autonomous airborne drones and electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) passenger vehicles.
The partnership aims to establish a global network of urban-air ports and provide the essential infrastructure to unlock clean urban air mobility worldwide. The partnership forms a key part of Urban-Air Port’s plan to build 200 sites globally in the next five years.
Investment in the urban air mobility industry has exploded this year, with $4.7 billion USD announced for the development of eVTOL vehicles. Companies including Joby Aviation, Archer Aviation, Lilium and Vertical Aerospace have all announced SPAC (Special-Purpose Acquisition Company) investments to bring eVTOLs to market within the decade and the industry is forecast to hit $1 trillion USD in the next 20 years.
However, the lack of infrastructure to support these vehicles is a major block on market growth, with experts at NASA saying infrastructure constraints will create a significant barrier to urban air mobility in the near term. Despite this, only 3% of the investment so far this year ($150m USD) is in the physical infrastructure.
Urban-Air Port is the only company solely focused on deploying the infrastructure-technology essential for eVTOLs and delivery drones to operate. It plans to plug the infrastructure gap with more than 200 electric air mobility hubs worldwide in the next five years to meet expected global demand. The world’s first fully operational urban-air port – named Air-One – will be unveiled early next year in Coventry, UK.