The early adoption of electric- and hydrogen-powered aircraft in Canada took a step forward this week with the launch of the new Canadian Advanced Air Mobility Consortium (CAAM) during an online event on October 28. The Vancouver-based not-for-profit organization aims to streamline research, development, and commercial operations for eVTOL aircraft and supporting infrastructure by bringing together stakeholders, including manufacturers, operators, universities, and local agencies.
JR Hammond, the group’s executive director, noted CAAM was founded with a mandate to create a national strategy to implement a zero-emission AAM ecosystem to move people, goods, and services in both urban and rural areas. While the organization’s efforts will be initially focused on the Vancouver and British Columbia region, it expects to expand its reach with a Canadian nationwide framework in place.
According to Hammond, the overarching framework’s guiding principles state that AAM must be equitable, inclusive, resilient, intermodal, accessible, and powered by zero-emission energy sources.
The more than 20 initial founding CAAM members include the South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (Translink), Iskwew Air, Helijet International, Bell Textron, British Columbia Institute of Technology, the University of British Columbia, National Research Council of Canada, and Canadian Air Mobility.
Bell is developing its Nexus eVTOL aircraft mainly for air taxi operations and is a partner in the Uber Elevate urban air mobility program. The company is also testing its autonomous pod transport (APT), a tail-sitting eVTOL capable of moving up to 70 pounds of cargo, the groundwork for which was developed at the Bell Textron Canada facility in Mirabel, Quebec.
As a founding member of CAAM, the company noted that the development of an integrated AAM ecosystem "entails close collaboration and an open conversation about the associated infrastructure, regulatory, operational, and technology needs," and added it is thrilled to lend its expertise to industry and government partners to reach that goal.
Vancouver-based rotorcraft operator and now CAAM member Helijet operates the world’s largest scheduled helicopter service, which it has grown in the region over the past nearly four decades. “One of the strongest components we can bring to the table is we have a mature market now, that is willing and desirous to get sustainable and take a look at what technologies can better their lives and their communities, so we want to be a part of that,” said company president and CEO Daniel Sitnam.
Iskwew Air is another local aircraft charter provider that is committing to adding eVTOL aircraft to its fleet. The operator, which was founded by a group of women from several indigenous communities of western Canada, was represented at the CAAM launch event by lead executive officer Teara Fraser.
Sitnam noted the consortium offers an ideal situation to test and implement new technologies as they become available. “We have an opportunity to be a bit of a petri dish in Vancouver,” he said, adding that one of CAAM's missions is to fight the skepticism that exists over the new technologies to enable them to flourish, become commercialized, and integrated into communities.
In tandem with its launch, CAAM also released a white paper by Nexa Capital Partners describing the benefits of AAM both generally, as well as in more specific terms to the Vancouver area. The report outlines use cases, ranging from transportation to environmental services, to firefighting and medical care.
“One of the key elements that we've been talking about it as a consortium is that one of the best opportunities we have is to integrate this into first-responder opportunities,” said Sitnam. “Where people need help, these technologies can help.”
CAAM says its aspirations align as well with those of Transport2050, which is Vancouver's shared plan for the next 30 years of transportation. “This is an important initiative to really research to understand how the airspace can be best used for advanced air mobility in a safe and efficient way while [we] keep advancing our regional goals on livability and sustainability,” added Niklas Kviselius, manager for new mobility with the metropolitan area's Translink transportation agency.
Also among the group’s objectives is to create an innovation hub to help small- and medium-sized enterprises grow their technology from a low-technology readiness level through to certification and commercialization. Along those lines, Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) has been engaged in AAM research for nearly a decade.
“What we always wanted to do from the get-go is to plant that big flag in Canada to really make Canada the recognized world leader in advanced air mobility,” said Eric Lefebvre, the NRC’s business advisor for the aerospace division. “This is the first step towards that.”
“At CAAM we have a vision for the future and a leading role we want to play in creating it,” concluded Hammond. “We aim to be that streamlined exclusive national consortia for implementing zero-emission aviation advanced air mobility in the Canadian context.”
