Image © Rolls-Royce, Vertical Aerospace
Vertical Aerospace’s Urban Air Mobility solution is possibly the Rolls-Royce for passenger drones, synonymous with luxury technology. Rolls-Royce recently announced that its power system will be integrated into Vertical Aerospace’s “Piloted All-Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing Vehicle (eVTOL)”. The aircraft will carry up to four passengers for 120 miles at cruising speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour and is scheduled to certify in 2024, the announcement said. The companies expect the first vertical aerospace flight this year.
Rolls-Royce is one of several automobile brands working together in this sector. “Vertical Aerospace is an important collaboration for Rolls-Royce Electrical as it is our first commercial venture in the UAM market and builds on previous agreements to partner with us on demonstration programs,” the announcement said.
Rolls-Royce has already invested heavily in electric vehicle technology: for land, air and sea transportation systems. “The electrification of flights is an important part of Rolls-Royce’s sustainability strategy and supports our goal of contributing to a net carbon-free future by 2050,” says the company.
For this partnership, around 100 specialist electrical engineers from Rolls-Royce will work with Vertical Aerospace in the UK to design the system architecture for the entire electric propulsion system.
“We are very excited to be working with Vertical Aerospace on the electrical engineering that will power their groundbreaking eVTOL aircraft. This exciting opportunity demonstrates our ambition to be a leading provider of sustainable complete power systems for the emerging urban air mobility market, which has the potential to transform the way people and cargo move from city to city, ”says Rob Watson, Director – Rolls-Royce Electrical.
