Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — NEOM and Volocopter have announced a series of successful flight trials of electric vertical vehicles (eVTOL), commonly known as air taxis, marking the first ever testing of an electric and zero-emission urban air mobility (UAM) system in Kingdom’s futuristic city.
The project, a result of an 18-month partnership between NEOM, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), and Volocopter, focused on building and assessing the performance of the Volocopters in the local atmosphere and diverse climatic conditions of the Kingdom.
Moreover, it sought to gauge their integration with the local drone traffic management system (UTM) and ensure the highest safety standards throughout the testing period.
NEOM had previously announced a $175 million investment in Volocopter, which is on track to receive certification for its Volosity air taxi by 2024 and has recently commenced mass production of the vehicle at its facilities in Prochsal, Germany, with an annual production capacity exceeding 50 units.
Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, President of GCAA, said, “The success of this safe test flight represents an important turning point in the journey of the Saudi aviation sector, and another step towards achieving its strategy, by innovating and employing the latest technologies to create new industries that contribute to the GDP and provide more jobs.”
NEOM’s CEO Nadhmi Al Nasr described the successful flight trials a “testament to NEOM’s role as a global accelerator and incubator for innovative solutions to pressing global challenges”.
Christian Bauer, Chief Commercial Officer of Volocopter, emphasized the potential of eVTOL electric volocopters to contribute significantly to the creation of an intelligent, sustainable, and multimodal mobility system in NEOM, powered entirely by solar and wind energy.
