As cities grow so does the need for better movement of goods and people. Air taxis #eVTOL are becoming a reality & our developments in electric propulsion systems will provide a cleaner more efficient form of transport.
The race to develop air transport that could cruise across the city skies is on and Rolls-Royce is planning to be part of it. Gabriele Teofili, Business Area Lead for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) at Rolls-Royce, gives an update on the efforts we are taking to lead the way in powering air taxis.
It sounds like an exciting time.
It is an incredible opportunity to be at the forefront of developing electrical technology that could power these new vehicles. We are focused on three main areas, the first, the testing of our prototype equipment in flight- our propulsion system that powers the CityAirbus demonstrator. This pioneering programme is expanding our expertise for the next iterations of our propulsion systems on the road to a product.
Will the work you are doing on developing propulsion systems for the Urban Air Mobility Market to technology being developed for other markets?
At Rolls-Royce, we intend to serve other emerging aviation markets with power and propulsion products.
We already can see small electrical propeller aircraft, like training planes, being flown and we are on the way to certifying a first product for this application.
We are also looking to offer customers the opportunity to retrofit planes and also equip new designs of commuter planes up to 19 seats being developed. Finally, aircraft in our traditional segments will also become more electric – with integrated electrical starter generators, auxiliary power units and more intelligent management of the electrical systems on board. Power and propulsion for air taxis will complement this portfolio.