Urban Air Port Air-One has been selected as a winner of the UK government’s Future Flight Challenge to develop aviation infrastructure and systems that enable the next generation of electric and autonomous air vehicles.
Air-One is a world-first fully-operational ‘pop up’ urban airport and charging hub for future electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft – such as cargo drones and air taxis – to be launched in Coventry later this year.
The initial site (pictured) is adjacent to the Ricoh Arena in north Coventry, close by the M6.
Key points:
- Urban Air Port Air-One is a ‘pop up’ airport and charging hub for future electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft – such as air taxis and autonomous delivery drones – that will transport people and cargo across cities in the coming years.
- Hyundai Motor Group, Coventry City Council and the UK Government have partnered with Urban Air Port to launch the world’s first site – Air One – to demonstrate the potential of urban air mobility for the UK and worldwide.
- Urban Air Port will reduce congestion, cut air pollution and help achieve a zero carbon future. It can be integrated with electric vehicles and sustainable public transport.
- The company plans to install more than 200 zero emission sites worldwide over the next five years in response to global demand.
Urban Air Port has been awarded a £1.2m grant from Innovate UK’s Future Flight Challenge. The programme is funded by £125m from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and is expected to be matched by up to £175m from industry.
The ambitious Air-One project will bring industry, government and the public together to demonstrate how to unlock the potential of sustainable urban air mobility to reduce congestion, cut air pollution and holistically decarbonise transport while providing seamless passenger journeys and deliveries.
The company plans to develop more than 200 sites in the next five years to meet global demand. Cities across the UK and many more globally have already expressed an interest in installing an Urban Air Port.
Having secured funding for Air-One, Urban Air Port is now in discussions with investors to support its rapid commercialisation and global growth.
NASA predicts that urban-air mobility in the US alone could be worth up to $500bn (£375bn) in the near-term and states that a significant barrier to market growth is the lack of infrastructure, an issue which Urban Air Port was established to resolve.
The physical footprint of an Urban Air Port is 60% smaller than a traditional heliport (the most comparable existing infrastructure).
Using innovative modular construction, the sites can be installed in a matter of days, emit net zero carbon emissions and can be operated completely off-grid, meaning they do not always have to rely on a suitable grid connection.
Urban Air Port provides an integrated approach to the decarbonisation of cities. It is designed to support any eVTOL aircraft and complements other modes of sustainable transport as a hub for EVs, electric buses, scooters or other vehicles.
The modular design enables Urban Air Ports to be easily dismantled and moved to alternative sites, as the air-mobility sector develops. This design also means the sites are ideal for disaster emergency management. Urban Air Ports can rapidly deploy drones and other eVTOL to collect and transport emergency supplies, equipment and people where needed.
The Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group has chosen Urban Air Port as its priority infrastructure partner to support the global growth of this new sector.
The South Korean company plans to create its own eVTOL aircraft and support the broader urban air mobility eco-system. Hyundai Motor Group is supporting the development of Air-One as part of its plan to commercialise its aircraft by 2028
Malloy Aeronautics, a leading UK-based drone developer, logistics and engineering company, is Urban Air Port’s UK drone aircraft partner. The company’s large cargo drones will be demonstrated at the Air-One site.
To further public understanding and acceptance of the new technology – a key factor to its ultimate success – the Air-One site in Coventry will showcase live demonstrations of remote aircraft command and control, charging / refuelling and cargo and passenger loading for manned and unmanned eVTOL aircraft operating in three key markets: passenger air taxi services, autonomous logistics and disaster emergency management.
The electric heartlands: Coventry
Urban Air Port chose Coventry for the first site due to its important location in the heart of the UK and because it is a historic hub for the automobile and aerospace industry, with a pool of people and skills that can support the manufacturing industries of the future.
The city’s unique location also provides easy access within four hours to most parts of the country.
In December 2020, Coventry was named the best UK town for electric cars. Air-One will be unveiled during Coventry’s UK city of culture celebrations in 2021 and continue to form part of the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Ricky Sandhu, Founder and Executive Chairman of Urban Air Port, said: “Cars need roads. Trains need rails. Planes need airports. eVTOLs will need Urban Air Ports. Over a hundred years ago, the world’s first commercial flight took off, creating the modern connected world. Urban Air Port will improve connectivity across our cities, boost productivity and help the UK to take the lead in a whole new clean global economy.”
“Flying cars used to be a futuristic flight of fancy. Air-One will bring clean urban air transport to the masses and unleash a new airborne world of zero emission mobility.”
Pamela Cohn, Chief Operating Officer for the Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group, said: “As we advance our eVTOL aircraft programme, development of supporting infrastructure is imperative. Air-One is a unique project that is set to help lead the way in developing a robust, accessible and intermodal infrastructure network for future mobility.
“We are excited to be part of this partnership in the UK, and look forward to working together to create community impact and opportunity through safe, affordable, and human-centred mobility solutions.”
Gary Cutts, UK Research and Innovation Future Flight Challenge Director, said: “Urban Air Port has the potential to revolutionise cities across the world, making them more connected, cleaner and accelerating our green economic recovery. This project epitomises the purpose of the Future Flight Challenge fund – it is innovation at its finest – and will help to position the UK at the vanguard of electric urban air mobility.”
Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Coventry City Council Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration, said: “We are already a city that is helping to shape the future of electric transport and this is yet another ground breaking project that puts Coventry at the forefront of new technologies. It highlights how the council is working alongside a range of organisations to help shape a better, greener future.”
Oriol Badia, CEO of Malloy Aeronautics, said: It is a key goal for Malloy – to introduce unmanned air logistics into an urban environment and merge it with supporting infrastructure that is flexible and resilient, hosting intelligent operating systems and state of the art innovation.
“Air-One provides the ability to service multiple transport requirements of the future – from disaster relief to essential and everyday supplies for citizens across the UK. These are truly exciting opportunities especially with a strong partnership between Malloy and Urban Air Port – thus unifying serviceability and operability, forming a turnkey product.”
Broad partnership
Partners in the ground-breaking project include:
- Hyundai Motor Group, a developer of eVTOL aircraft that will support infrastructure and operations design and development.
- Coventry City Council, providing the site and local city / event management.
- Coventry University & the National Transport Design Centre, providing Human Factors and Disaster Relief consulting.
- Malloy Aeronautics, drone logistics.
- small., architectural design and parent company of Urban Air Port Limited.
Air-One will also be developed with an industry leading team including several UK SMEs, Ove Arup and Partners, world-leading electric charging providers and leading manufacturers.
Urban Air Port’s Air-One provides, another often overlooked contribution, the stimulation of STEM studies in education. ‘Bringing the future to the local’ activities for all levels of students to increase their exposure to these vital technologies that they will become developers and users of in the future.
Students from schools and universities from around the UK will be invited to visit Air-One to stimulate their awareness of applied UK STEM and inspire them to help create a brighter and more sustainable future.
Sunil Budhdeo, Transport Innovation Manager at Coventry City Council, said: “As part of the West Midlands Combined Authority, Coventry City Council is 100% supportive of this innovative and ground-breaking Air-One programme, demonstrating how revolutionary new, greener modes of travel will increase mobility, reduce road congestion, improve connectivity and increase UK manufacturing opportunities.”
About Urban Air Port
Urban Air Port Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of small. (Six Miles Across London Limited).
small. consists of a group of UK based Design & DeepTech companies focusing on creating a Zero-Emission-Mobility [ZEM] ecosystem.
These companies include Urban.AV (Autonomous Vehicles) partnered with Cambridgeshire County Council; Urban.MASS (Mass Transit), partnered with Shildon in the Northern PowerHouse and Urban Air Port (Infrastructure-as-a-Service enabling Urban-Air Mobility) that is partnered with Hyundai Motor Group to advance Urban Air Mobility. www.urbanairport.co.uk
