Guest post: Volatus Infrastructure
A review of the company's partnerships for vertiport development
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Today I’m sharing a guest post from Volatus, a Wisconsin-based company focused on building and operating ground infrastructure for eVTOLs. I’ve written about the importance of AAM ground infrastructure before and mentioned Volatus’ efforts to build affordable and scalable vertiports.
Over the past year, Volatus has assembled a team of partners that will play a role in deploying its network of vertiports. These partners include eVTOL developers Eve Air Mobility, SkyDrive, and Air.
See below for their year in review, written by Nicolas Zart (Strategic Advisor) and Sheena Banker (Director of Public Relations).
Volatus: A Year in Review
By Sheena Baker and Nicolas Zart
Volatus Infrastructure was founded in 2020 after seeing the need for accessible, scalable, and affordable AAM infrastructure. Since then, the company has brought together industry-leading stakeholders while accomplishing a series of manufacturing milestones.
In 2020, all eyes were on advanced air mobility (AAM) and urban air mobility (UAM). Many were captivated by the renderings of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL), however, few were thinking about the infrastructure needed for taking off, landing, and charging the aircraft. Infrastructure seemed to be an afterthought, especially when it came to certification. It was clear that the industry needed a robust infrastructure network of vertiports to take off safely, travel quietly and cleanly, and land near passengers’ final destination. This is what motivated Volatus to work on building a wide portfolio of infrastructure solutions for eVTOLs.
From the beginning, Volatus worked closely with the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) in the United States to ensure that its vertiport solutions were certifiable. In April 2022, the company held a press conference at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which will be the site of its first vertiport deployment. Since then, Volatus has gathered an array of globally recognized partners in both passenger transport and cargo drone delivery.
Volatus forged partnerships with Metro Consulting Associates (MCA), Valqari, Altaport, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), Global Aerial Management Group (GAMG), Aviation Planning Group (APG), SkyDrive, AIR, Eve Air Mobility, and PLANA. To support its partnership work, Volatus has established business development teams globally throughout Latin America, Australia, the Middle East, East Asia, and North America.
The first partnership post-press conference that was established was with MCA, a multifaceted energy, land, and community development firm. This strategic partnership covers civil engineering and land surveying services. MCA also serves as the business development team for Volatus in the Great Lakes Basin Region.
The summer kicked off with adding Valqari as a strategic partner, bringing drone operations to Volatus’ AAM infrastructure offerings. Volatus will install a Valqari Drone Delivery Station at every public vertiport location. The summer continued with adding Altaport as a partner, enabling high-volume throughput and autonomous ground operations for vertiport managers and aircraft fleet operators. Volatus offers a safe and efficient operational environment using the company's Vertiport Automation System (VAS), following existing guidance by the FAA and NASA.
Mid-summer saw a partnership with real estate company JLL to help with site selection and procurement. Once GAMG became partners, Volatus continued its expansion with the company's expertise in business development, covering the Southwest portion of the US. GAMG was also named Volatus’ preferred partner for vertiport management services.
When the leaves started changing, APG brought airport planning and layout expertise to the team. Not only do they consult on nearly every Volatus project and work side by side-by-side with them and the FAA but they also serve as the business development team covering the Pacific Northwest territory of the US.
Into Autumn, the leading Japanese eVTOL developer SkyDrive teamed up with Volatus. SkyDrive’s SD-05 aircraft is due to perform its first commercial flight in 2024. This partnership was soon followed by one with Air, the Israeli personal eVTOL maker. Both SkyDrive and Air will integrate Volatus’ AAM infrastructure, vertiports, and charging stations into their business platforms and support Volatus in expanding eVTOL infrastructure in their native countries.
In the winter of 2022, Volatus helped form the Constellation Alliance Group, a partnership with Valqari, GAMG, and PromoDrone to focus on humanitarian use cases. Soon Eve Air Mobility saw the value in Volatus and began to offer its urban air mobility and uncrewed traffic management (UAM/UTM) expertise for Network Management Services. Eve’s Urban Air Traffic Management (“UATM”) software solution will be used to improve the capacity and efficiency of Volatus’ vertiports.
As the new year rang in, Volatus formed relationships with two different South Korean companies. First was VMIC, an airplane leasing company that is doing business development for Volatus. A more recent addition is PLANA, a hybrid eVTOL maker with a configuration of five seats and a pilot.
Volatus has much more to come soon. Alongside its work with partners, the company is manufacturing parts of its vertiport solution; its first vehicle-agnostic charging stations are in production.
In addition to the Oshkosh location announced last year, Volatus has also indicated that it will be building a vertiport at the Bellefonte Airport in Pennsylvania.
The company has named its first charitable cause: The Warbirds of Glory Museum located in Michigan. Volatus will be donating a percentage of profits to the museum to continue its restoration work and educational programs to preserve aviation history.
Overall, it has been a busy and productive year for Volatus, with much more to come as the company continues to expand and improve its infrastructure offerings.