Urban air mobility (UAM) company Volocopter announced on Wednesday that it has raised €200 million ($238 million) in its Series D funding round. According to the company, the funding will be used to certify its VoloCity electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) air taxi and accelerate the launch of its first commercial routes. The latest funding round brings the total capital raised by Volocopter to €322 million ($384 million).
“Volocopter is ahead of the curve in the UAM industry, and we have the achievements to prove it,” said Volocopter CEO Florian Reuter. “No other electric air taxi company has publicly performed as many flights in cities around the world, with full regulatory approval, as Volocopter has. Our VoloCity is the fifth generation of Volocopter aircraft and has a strong path to being the first certified electric air taxi for cities.”
Volocopter is pursuing certification of the VoloCity under EASA’s SC-VTOL rule. The 18-motor eVTOL is expected to have a range of 35 km (19 NM), top airspeed of 110 km/h (59 knots) and payload of 200 kg (441 pounds) as well as featuring batteries that can be swapped in approximately five minutes. Volocopter says its air taxi designs have completed more than 1000 test flights since 2011.
Interesting development, but one thing quickly caught my eye – 19 NM range. A quick battery change may be a moot point if it is faced with “Volocopter xxxx, please hold in pattern. Emergency MediVac landing.”
It surely wont win any awards for good looks. Nor is it the most compact. By the time you get your car parked, walk to the Volocopter, get strapped in, wait for clearance delivery… you could have just driven the additional 19NM. At least they seem to be one of the few VTOL mfgs being honest about the range.