Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau has accepted Volocopter’s request to process its application to type certify its two-seat VoloCity eVTOL aircraft concurrently with the European air safety agency EASA. The German manufacturer is also working on type certification with the FAA and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.
Volocopter’s announcement on February 21 was the third indicator this week of Japan’s intent to include advanced air mobility (AAM) services in its future public transportation strategy. On the same day, Tokyo-based SkyDrive confirmed that its SD-05 vehicle will participate in the Smart Mobility Expo as part of the Future Society Showcase Project Exhibitions during the Expo 2025 event in Osaka. Last week, China’s EHang conducted what it said was the first passenger-carrying eVTOL demonstration flight in Japan with its two-seat, EH216 autonomous aerial vehicle.
In a further boost to Volocopter, the company announced that Japanese trading and financial group Sumitomo Corporation is supporting its Series E funding round with an undisclosed investment. It is joining other Japanese investors in backing the European start-up’s efforts to bring the VoloCity to market in 2025, and its plans for a larger, longer-range model called the VoloRegion and the VoloDrone freight vehicle.
From March 8 to 12, Volocopter will display a full-scale model of the VoloCity at the Grand Front Osaka shopping mall. Since 2022, the company has held a series of sessions with Osaka elementary schools to share knowledge about AAM operations.
On February 17, the EH216 flew with no pilot on board along the coastline at Tanoura beach in the city of Oita in western Japan. It carried two passengers, including Kirino Hiroshi, who is chairman of the Okayama Kurashiki Aero & Space Industry Cluster Study Group (MASC), and one of his colleagues. MASC is one of two partners EHang has in Japan, with the other being helicopter flight booking platform AirX.
EHang, which is working to secure type certification in China for the EH216, has conducted several flight demonstrations in Japan, including the first point-to-point flight in July 2022, which also happened in Oita. During last week’s event, EHang COO Xin Fang said that the company has received support from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, as well as from local government officials and other partners in the country.
On February 17, EHang met with the Civil Aviation Administration of China at Hezhou in Guangxi province. The discussions were focused on the next steps in the certification and operational approval processes for the EH216. A company spokesperson told FutureFlight it is pleased with progress in getting the aircraft approved for commercial services.
In December 2022, the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition announced a call for applications for eVTOL aircraft developers and operators to participate in the Osaka event. Details of the routes to be flown in the SD-05, as well as the frequency of flights, the number of aircraft involved, and fares for passengers, will be determined at a later date.
Japan's Marubeni Corporation, which is a prospective customer for Vertical Aerospace's VX4 four-passenger eVTOL aircraft, were also this week selected to provide flights during the Expo 2025 Osaka event. In January, the company paid an undisclosed deposit to cover the first 25 of up to 200 vehicles it has on order. Marubeni and UK-based Vertical have been jointly working on AAM market research in Japan since September 2021.
Two other partners have been authorized to operate eVTOL vehicles as part of the Smart Mobility Expo. These are Japanese scheduled carrier ANA in alliance with Joby Aviation, and Japan Airlines, which has made a provisional commitment to add 100 of Vertical VX4 to its fleet.
Last month, SkyDrive announced a partnership in South Carolina to explore initial use cases for its two-seat SD-05 vehicle, which will have a preliminary range of just six miles. In 2022, it raised approximately $67 million in a Series C funding round.
