Raphael Thys
This year, we have seen quite a few eVTOLs (electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) being developed in places all over the world, but the next step is developing a new infrastructure dedicated to urban air mobility (UAM). What better place to do that than a new, futuristic city-state designed to be highly innovative?
One of the best-known names in the rising eVTOL sector, Volocopter, has joined forces with another name that promises to change the future of mobility – NEOM, the revolutionary urban community that’s being developed in Saudi Arabia. The European eVTOL manufacturer has launched several collaborations for future vertiports in different countries across the globe, but what’s special about this new partnership is the fact that NEOM is brand-new, which makes it the perfect blank slate for a complex eVTOL ecosystem.
Anywhere else in the world, Volocopter has to deal with “the constraints of legacy infrastructure or regulation,” but NEOM, specifically designed for a futuristic mobility system, is the best place to pioneer something completely new. The new city-state that will unfold over 10,000 square miles (25,900 square kilometers) in the Tabuk Province will allow only zero-emission vehicles across its territory and will be powered by renewable energy.
Electric aircraft will be right at home, among autonomous shuttles, electric boats, delivery drones, and solar-powered mobility hubs – this is the vision for NEOM. The two partners will design an entirely new UAM ecosystem, which claims to become the world’s first bespoke system of its kind. During the first phase, ten VoloCity air taxis and five VoloDrone logistics aircraft will begin flight operations within the new ecosystem. Over time, vertical mobility services will be used to cover a wide area of operations, including logistics, tourism, and emergencies.
NEOM and Volocopter’s joint venture company will be the one to design, develop, and then operate this unique public mobility system, where air taxis and delivery drones will be seamlessly integrated with the futuristic city’s zero-emission public transit system.
The city-state in Saudi Arabia has recently introduced the Line, a linear urban community with no cars on the surface, just an underground logistics system instead, plus the high-tech industrial hub Oxagon.
The first Volocopter aircraft are expected to begin operations in the futuristic city in two to three years.