The eVTOLs are coming and the two leaders announce different paths
Perhaps it is a coincidence or maybe the competition to capture investors, but the almost simultaneous announcements by Archer and Joby about their respective successes is a reoccurring pattern. The most recent dueling press releases have revealed interesting but differing information.
The folks from Santa Clara, Archer, announced a partnership with Southwest to serve as an air taxi at the airlines California Airports. The short, green and quiet flights are touted as a big plus for the carrier’s customers.
Archer’s previous statement emphasized its strategy of relying on proven suppliers. It has investments from heavy hitters such as Stellantis, Boeing, United Airlines, and ARK Investment Management LLC (“ARK Invest”) and the Boeing Company.
The Joby announced an impressive “first-of-its-kind” air taxi test flight powered by hydrogen-electric technology. The flight covered 523 miles and at its destination the fuel cell had 10% remaining. The cell and the tank were developed by H2FLY, wholly owned by Joby. Its founder touted its FAA approved ElevateOS software.
It was alsomentioned that Joby-owned X-Wing had completed over 250 autonomously flown operations. Another self-contained asset is acquired Inras GMBH, an Austrian developer of lightweight, high-performance radar sensor technology. These elements are consistent with its strategy to control quality internally.
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Southwest Airlines and Archer Aviation to develop electric air taxi network
“We’ve proudly served as California’s largest carrier[1] for nearly 25 years, and integrating Archer’s electric aircraft into the travel journey potentially gives us an innovative opportunity to enhance the experience of flying Southwest,” said Paul Cullen, Vice President Real Estate at Southwest Airlines, in a press release published on July 12, 2024.
The deal would allow Southwest Airlines customers to use Archer’s Midnight electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to SPEED UP AND SIMPLIFY AIRPORT TRANSFERS AND SHORT-DISTANCE JOURNEYS BETWEEN CITIES. The aircraft will be low-noise and cleaner with no direct emissions.
Additionally, passengers will be able to bypass traffic and significantly reduce commute times. Archer’s Midnight eVTOL aircraft can replace 60 minutes to 90 minutes of commuting by car with an estimated 10 to 20 minutes air taxi flights.
According to Archer, battery-powered eVTOLs can take off and land vertically like a helicopter, eliminating the need for runways, taxiways, and other ground facilities. Five seat eVTOL aircraft can carry four passengers and one pilot for nearly 100 kilometers (60 miles) at speeds of up to 241 km/h (150 mph).
“By putting together Southwest’s impressive network of airports in California, Southwest customers could someday complete door-to-door trips like Santa Monica to Napa in less than three hours,” said Nikhil Goel, Chief Commercial Officer at Archer.
Bay Area network plans
Archer’s new air taxi network in California is not the company’s only project.
On June 20, 2024, the manufacturer announced details of its plan to launch an air taxi service in the San Francisco Bay Area, connecting five cities: South San Francisco, Napa, San Jose, Oakland, and Livermore. It is estimated that travel time will be cut by 10–20 minutes, with bookings available through an app. The primary hub will be located at Oyster point in San Francisco, which will have floating landing pads and electric ferry links.
The eVTOL developer also mentioned a potential launch date of 2025. However, this would be dependent on having its Midnight eVTOL aircraft certified by that date.
These destinations make Southwest Airlines a convenient option for both business and leisure travelers in California12. If you need more information or have any other questions, feel free to ask!
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California eVTOL firm JOBY AVIATION has completed what the company is calling a “first-of-its-kind” air taxi test flight powered by hydrogen-electric technology.
The “landmark” flight was carried out last month using a converted pre-production Joby prototype fitted with a LIQUID HYDROGEN FUEL TANK AND FUEL CELL SYSTEM. The aircraft flew 523 miles (842 kilometers) and landed with 10 percent of its hydrogen fuel load remaining, with water as its only byproduct.
Joby said it believes this flight is the first forward flight of a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft powered liquid hydrogen. by Joby’s hydrogen-electric demonstrator “is part of the company’s future technology program,” Joby said.
“Traveling by air is central to human progress, but we need to find WAYS TO MAKE IT CLEANER,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby. “With our battery-electric air taxi set to fundamentally change the way we move around cities, we’re excited to now be building a technology stack that could redefine regional travel using hydrogen-electric aircraft.”
Bevirt said the sector is getting closer to hydrogen-electric flight, and with the “progress we’ve made toward certifying the battery-electric version of our aircraft, [it] gives us a great head start as we look ahead to making hydrogen-electric flight a reality.”
Using the same airframe and architecture as Joby’s battery-electric aircraft, the hydrogen-electric demonstrator was fitted with a liquid hydrogen fuel tank that stores up to 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of liquid hydrogen, alongside a reduced mass of batteries.
The eVTOL firm plans TO START COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS IN 2025 using its yet-to-be-certified battery-electric air taxi. With hydrogen-powered flight on the horizon, Joby said it believes the work that the company is putting into designing, testing and certifying the battery-electric aircraft will carry over to its future hydrogen-electric aircraft.
“We also expect to be able to use the same landing pads, the same operations team, and Joby’s ElevateOS software [FAA approved ]that will support the commercial operation of our battery-electric aircraft,” Bevirt said.
Joby’s bid in hydrogen-electric aviation stems back to April 2021 when the company quietly purchased German hydrogen startup H2Fly. Last month’s milestone flight combines the technology developed by the California eVTOL company and its hydrogen subsidiary.
Hydrogen is fed into the hydrogen fuel cell system, which was designed and built by H2Fly. The system generates electricity used to power the aircraft’s six electric motors, and the batteries provide additional power primarily during takeoff and landing.
“H2FLY is proud to deliver a highly efficient fuel cell system that underlines our expertise in designing and building fuel cell systems for different aircraft applications, and supports Joby in demonstrating the potential for emission-free regional flights,” said Josef Kallo, co-founder and CEO of H2Fly.
The German startup used similar technology to complete another record-breaking flight in September 2023, when it flew what it believes was the world’s first piloted flight of a conventional liquid hydrogen-electric aircraft using fuel cell technology.
The company’s hydrogen-electric program is supported through Joby’s partnership with the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program. Jacob Wilson, acting branch chief of AFWERX Agility Prime, said hydrogen technology aligns with the program’s goals to “advance transformative vertical-lift technologies.”
Adding to Joby’s technological capabilities, the COMPANY ACQUIRED AUTONOMOUS TECHNOLOGY FIRM XWING LAST MONTH. Xwing has been flying autonomous aircraft since 2020, carrying out 250 fully autonomous flights and more than 500 auto-landings. Joby also acquired INRAS GMBH in 2021, a company based in Linz, Austria, developing lightweight, high-performance radar sensor technology.
- [1] San Francisco: Southwest serves the main airport in San Francisco.
- Los Angeles (LAX): Southwest provides service to Los Angeles International Airport.
- Sacramento: Southwest operates flights to Sacramento.
- Oakland: Southwest flies to Oakland Airport.
- San Jose: Southwest serves San Jose Airport.
- Orange County: Southwest offers flights to Orange County.
- Burbank: Southwest provides service to Burbank Airport.
- San Diego: Southwest operates flights to San Diego.
- Ontario: Southwest serves Ontario Airport.
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