The AAM will be safe, reliable, and sustainable, and could become a reality soon thanks to the efforts of manufacturers, operators, regulators and infrastructure developers.
Within the framework of TRANSFIERE, the European Forum for Science, Technology and Innovation held in Malaga in February 2023, an interesting panel discussion was held on the Advanced Air Mobility, organised by the association Ell.
Future operating companies, professionals in UAS operation, eVTOL manufacturers, aviation regulatory authorities, and experts in vertiports and ground infrastructure were present around the same table. With this, we were able to obtain a comprehensive view of the challenges in which we are involved in seeing Advanced Air Mobility in our urban environments in the very short term.
Some of the main conclusions from the round table discussion were:
There is a direct link between sustainability and the AAM Based on the premise that eVTOLs are electric and therefore do not consume fossil fuels nor emit CO2 or other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In this regard, it was also mentioned how the use of AAM for the transport of people and parcels could reduce the volume of global emissions as they gradually replace some of the traditional (and polluting) vehicles that currently perform the same task.
Within the framework of the impacts generated, the issue of noise generated by eVTOLs and the modelling that manufacturers are doing to find solutions that minimise it. Given the urban environment in which this type of transport will be implemented, it is one of the pending issues, although it should not be overlooked that they are much quieter than helicopters or medium-sized wheeled vehicles, which they will to some extent replace.
AERTEC, intervened as a company with extensive experience in the conceptualisation and design of infrastructure for AAM, having been involved in projects such as the ATLAS Experimental Centre, CEUS, the Bluenest (Openvía Air) White Paper; R&D on vertiports in Hamburg, HERA Clean Aviation, etc.
Your proposal was very interesting classification of vertiports based on their functionality: vertihubs, vertiports and vertistops, highlighting the importance of its location, the delivery of a high standard in passenger experience and the profitability of this new mobility.
A key point in this context is that energy sources that the charging points used to recharge these vehicles at vertiports are clean. For this reason, the specific case of many airports that are already betting on renewable energy facilities (particularly photovoltaic technology) and which serve as a benchmark to bear in mind regarding the viability of this option.
AERTEC finally mentioned the future challenges, who are looking for reliable real-time information, including communication signal quality, redundancy, high-resolution maps, meteorology (no longer local, but specific), occupancy density, maps of potential FOD. In short, advancing technologies that enable robust and safe flight in confined spaces (multiple buildings).
Another challenge relates to the electric propulsionto develop efficient ways of storing large amounts of energy (even production in situ (hydrogen), the development of ultra-fast chargers, and the possibility that eVTOL batteries can also be swapped.
Also on this subject, there was a clear conviction that hydrogen will be the fuel of the future for aviation, although there are still challenges to be overcome, such as the complexity of producing liquid H₂, its storage and its distribution. It will not be as straightforward as using fossil fuels, which are stable at room temperature and less reactive. Some existing infrastructure will become obsolete, and new facilities will need to be developed, which will have to coexist with those already in place at airports.
Meanwhile, the COO of EHang, the manufacturer of eVTOL vehicles, He spoke about the progress made with his eVTOL models in various scenarios, as well as the expectation to formally commence passenger flights in China this very year and, shortly, in the United States and the European Union (2024-2025). The challenge issued by the EHang representative referred to the initial reluctance of some regulatory bodies to opt for unmanned autonomous vehicles initially, as they intend to approach permits in phases, first with a pilot and then without one.
The representative from CATEC, the Advanced Centre for Aerospace Technologies, explained that many tests are being carried out to ensure that the control and management systems for the operations of these vehicles are safe and fully reliable Before giving them operational approval. In your opinion, manufacturers, operators, and users must be aware that many flight hours need to be accumulated, and that the processes and stages established by EASA must be overcome.
The Chief Operating Officer at Aena's AGP, currently the world's largest airport operator, stressed that the airport operator has world-leading sustainability policies and technological development. At vertiports, they are collaborating with several eVTOL manufacturers and R&D programmes with the aim of to study the integration of vertiports into its airports. Without a doubt, there are arguments for and against doing so in the Air Side or the Ground Side, so further progress will need to be made in this regard. Furthermore, they are clear that U-Space must be integrated into ATM without affecting the safety and regularity of “conventional” aircraft operations.
