It’s not just electric aero-taxis that attract wealthy investors. The latest frontier are unmanned electric aircraft models such as those of the Californian Wisk Aero, the start-up in which Boeing and Google co-founder Larry Page are investing. The American manufacturer, majority holder of Wisk Aero, has decided to accelerate the project by investing 450 million dollars. If all goes according to plan, the new model will be the first unmanned aircraft to be certified in the United States, likely by 2028.
Boeing believes and invests in this autonomous mode of flight considered the keystone of the advanced air mobility applications of the future, both for passenger and freight transport. In a statement, Wisk said that Boeing’s $ 450 million investment makes the company sound financially as well, allowing it to continue developing the unmanned aircraft project with confidence.
It will be crucial to obtain the certification on which all the companies in the sector are concentrating their efforts and on which the launch of the new electric aircraft in addition to their marketing depends: from the American Joby and Archer to the European rivals Lilium and Vertical Aerospace. The European Aviation Agency, the Aviation Safety Agency, has predicted that the first electric plane could take off in Europe between 2024 and 2025. Obviously, the other problem behind the launch of this new mode of transport will be the infrastructures to be built around the cities, starting with the veliports for the landing of the aero-taxis.
All aircraft manufacturers are developing similar projects from Airbus to Emabraer: in 2021 the market was particularly lively, both in the collection of orders and in fund raising, although at the moment most start-ups are not yet far from having a solid prototype. capable of carrying passengers. This may also be the reason that all start-ups listed on the New York Stock Exchange trade at prices below the placement value.
McKinsey calculated that in 2021, investors spent more than $ 7 billion in the air mobility of the future, more than double what they invested in the previous 10 years. An interest that spilled over into the announced orders for 7,500 electric aircraft, to which the respective engines are associated, for a total value of 30 billion dollars. About half of what was collected came through reverse merger operations through listed companies such as Spacs (Special purpose acquisition companies). Although the projects are still far from being commercialized, the fact that important companies in the sector have exposed themselves to these initiatives suggests that there is something serious.