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Japanese parking lot and car-sharing operator Park24 plans to develop vertiports for eVTOL aircraft operations with advanced air mobility (AAM) ground infrastructure group Skyports. Under a memorandum of understanding announced on May 27, the companies will explore how vertiports could be integrated with Park24’s existing facilities in the Kansai region of Japan.
The collaboration also involves insurance firm Aioi Nissay Dowa and Japanese trading company Kanematsu Corporation, which is an investor in UK-based Skyports and has been working with it on AAM plans since April 2020. Aioi Nissay Dowa intends to provide insurance cover for the new ground infrastructure required for the air taxi services that are set to launch in Japan, starting in Osaka, in 2025.
In May 2021, the Osaka Prefecture government asked Skyports to help develop infrastructure and drone delivery services for the so-called Osaka Prefecture Super City. The company was selected as one of five contributing organizations for Osaka Prefecture’s “Green Table,” a collaborative roundtable platform launched to accelerate the commercialization of advanced air mobility. Local officials want to see initial eVTOL operations available in time for the Osaka-Kansai World Expo in 2025.
Skyports is already working with several eVTOL aircraft developers on plans for ground infrastructure. These include Wisk Aero, Eve, and Volocopter.
In South Korea, Skyports is partnered with local company Hanwha Systems. It has other vertiport planning projects underway in various U.S. cities and such other locations as Paris, London, and Singapore.
