2023-06-22 09:00:00
The ADP Group aims for the arrival of electric urban mobility by 2024 with the Volocity Volocopterand join forces with six leaders in carbon-free regional aviation to accelerate the environmental transition of the sector.
In the middle of the Paris Air Show, the manager of Paris airports made two announcements on the hunt for CO2 emissions. First of all, the ADP group, Volocopterthe Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) and the Ile-de-France Region have confirmed that all the conditions have been met for the launch of the first eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft) “above the skies of the Ile-de-France region” on the occasion of 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Following more than a year of successful trials at the Pontoise vertiport, on all aspects (safety, integration into the airspace, acceptability, passenger routes), “more than 20 flights have been carried out, nearly 200 km traveled and 1,000 visitors welcomed”. Paris will therefore be there first city in the world to offer eVTOL services to the general public, which will complement the existing modes of transport in Île-de-France (subject to certification by the EASA “which is on the right track”, these devices must be certified according to the same standards of stringent safety standards than airliners).
The partners will operate in 2024, through several aircraft, three routes and two loops for sightseeing flights. The three routes operated will serve:
Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport <> Paris-Le Bourget airport, with the aim of testing the integration of eVTOLs in the aerial sky of the busiest airport in Europe.
The Quai d’Austerlitz vertiport <> the Paris heliport, to test integration and acceptability in the sky of intramural Paris, in dense urban areas.
Paris heliport <> Saint-Cyr-l’École aerodrome (Versailles), to validate the potential for tourist and health uses on this link.
Loops (round trip) providing tourist flights will be offered departing from the Paris heliport and Paris-Le Bourget airport.
Flight operations in Paris will start from five vertiports and will gradually expand to cover the entire Paris region over the next decade. The VoloCity aircraft, which can accommodate a pilot and a passenger, will fly “at an altitude of less than 500 meters, but will be silent from the ground in urban environments”. The development of the network of vertiports will begin during the summer, at the latest in September. The development schedule, as defined on the five vertiportsmakes it possible to be ready for a commercial launch in the summer of 2024.
@ADP Group
On the strength of feedback from the experimental site of Pontoise (more than 1,000 visitors have come to watch dozens of test flights carried out over the past 18 months), each of the vertiports will include a passenger terminal and will have, depending on its configuration, 1 to 3 take-off and landing zones. The air connections planned for 2024 will serve to better understand the market and allow the public to familiarize themselves with this new form of mobility. In addition to offering a passenger transport service in urban areas and tourist flights, Volocopter “collaborates with the German air operator ADAC Luftrettung, to develop use cases in the health sector and deploy eVTOLs on medical service missions. emergency”. To find out more, visit this page.
Edward Arkwright, Executive Director of Groupe ADP, said: “ The 2023 International Air Show at Le Bourget, cradle of aviation pioneers, will be marked by a tipping point in the take-off of new electric air mobility: the transition from dream to reality. All the lights are green for us to be there for the summer of 2024. The challenges to be met are great, but they are a source of pride for all the players in the project, with whom we share the conviction that the low-carbon airlines also bring new services “. Dirk Hoke, CEO of Volocopter, added: “ We are counting the days that separate us from the realization of electric air taxis. With our French partners, we will take the lead in decarbonizing aviation, slowly but surely. The Paris Air Show 2023 is the ultimate opportunity to show thousands of people the benefits of electric air taxis in everyday life ».
The design of this electric aircraft gives it great flexibility of use. Because it takes off and lands vertically, it is particularly suitable for medical uses for rescue and emergency missions from the@APHP. pic.twitter.com/obsQoye1kX
— Groupe ADP (@GroupeADP) June 21, 2023
In the longer term, Groupe ADP has joined forces with six leaders of carbon-free regional aviation to speed up the arrival avant 2030 aircraft “from 2 to 100 seats with electric or hydrogen propulsion” at its aerodromes and at the airports of Paris Le Bourget, Orly et CDG. These new devices “are thus preparing to decarbonize flights around aerodromes, and to ensure radial and regional lines, and short haul in Europe”. ADP will work alongside Pipistrel, ZeroAvia, Universal Hydrogen, Beyond Aero, Volt Aero et Therefore “to identify the potential substitution of existing flights on its platforms, in connection with airlines in particular; consolidate the need new energies (electric, hydrogen, SAF) and identify the necessary adjustments; define the supply chainslogistics and refueling of aircraft on its infrastructures (storage, handling, setting up an H2 station), and collaborating with the regulatory authorities on safety, procedures, training, etc. »
Each of the partners, with its specificities (100% electric, conversion/retrofit of regional aircraft to hydrogenor hybrid) contributes to making possible the transition of the sector in the very short term. Groupe ADP has specific actions undertaken with each manufacturer to accelerate their integration on its airport platforms, and the marketing of their aircraft:
– Pipistrel: Toussus-le-Noble aerodrome was the launch site for the Velis Electro, following the aircraft received EASA certification in June 2020. Groupe ADP and TotalEnergies are also deploying a network of self-service electrical terminals at Ile-de-France airfields to support the conversion of fleets (Etampes, Toussus, Pontoise). – VoltAero: support from experts from the Groupe ADP laboratory in measuring the acoustic impact of the device. Test flights to link Ile-de-France airfields are in preparation. – Universal Hydrogen: studies and tests to come in order to demonstrate in real operating conditions all the logistics of the hydrogen capsules. – ZeroAvia: future studies and developments to make it possible to supply liquid or gaseous hydrogen to Paris-Le Bourget airport. – Beyond Aero: the first results of the Paris-Le Bourget substitution study show potential for more than 15% of aircraft. Flight tests are planned at Ile-de-France airfields. – Daher: establishment at the Toussus-le-Noble aerodrome of a test center for the technological building blocks of electric-powered aircraft.
According to Augustin de Romanet, Chairman and CEO of Groupe ADP, “ with these six leaders in innovation and decarbonization, new modes of propulsion are already a reality. In this alliance, unique in the world, of carbon-free regional aviation in Ile-de-France, Groupe ADP wishes to play its full role of accelerator and integrator of new aircraft at its airports and for the entire sector. Without adapted infrastructure connected to the entire airport ecosystem, these new aircraft might not be integrated into the landscape of our Ile-de-France platforms, whose decarbonization is expected by all: our passenger customers and all our stakeholders. ».
#ParisAirShow | The @GroupeADP joins forces with 6 leaders of the#aviation carbon-free region to accelerate the arrival before 2030 of aircraft with 2 to 100 seats powered by electricity or hydrogen at its aerodromes & airports in the Ile-de-France region #CDG #LeBourget #Orly. pic.twitter.com/2bUcHTuLMk
— Groupe ADP (@GroupeADP) June 21, 2023
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#ADP #Volocopter #mediumterm #decarbonization