Swedish start-up Kookiejar is not alone in believing that for advanced air mobility (AAM) to have a lasting impact on the way people and things move around, the infrastructure that supports new air vehicles including drones and eVTOL aircraft will need to be flexible, affordable, and accessible. Working in tandem with the uncrewed air traffic management specialist A2M formed by its founder, Kim Silander, the company is patiently developing early use cases for establishing networks of low-cost vertiports that can be easily scaled up in something of a cookie-cutter approach.
In late July, Kookiejar formed an alliance with another Swedish company, Stilfold, which is applying what it calls “industrial origami” to use robotic arms to fold flat sheet metal over curves to form strong and sustainable structures with minimal component parts. The partners are working on a blueprint for scalable vertiports that could start life as hubs for drone delivery networks in anticipation of later use as “bus stops” for eVTOL air taxi services.
During September, Kookiejar and A2M will be conducting trials for a plan to use drones to carry supplies and spare parts to superyachts anchored offshore from Monaco. This could provide a more efficient and sustainable alternative to the current approach, which involves having multiple motorboats shuttle back and forth a crowded stretch of the Mediterranean Sea.
Another current study being conducted closer to home involves preparing a business case for making meal deliveries in the Stockholm suburbs for a leading restaurant chain, Max Burger. Kookiejar CEO Michael Pettersson explained to AIN that this is providing a useful exercise in understanding, in consultation with municipal authorities, how low-altitude airspace could be safely and acceptably used above multiple neighborhoods and how ground infrastructure could be best provided. While delivering burgers and snacks might not be viewed among the most significant societal needs, the company feels that once an operating concept is in place, it could be used for tasks such as delivering blood samples between medical facilities.
For now, Kookiejar’s role in these early-phase AAM projects is to support cooperation between multiple stakeholders. In the longer term, it expects its business model to involve generating revenue from renting out vertiports to vehicle operators and other service providers, which would operate the facilities under license.
Lack of Regulatory Framework Is a Dragging Item for Vertiport Development
Pettersson, who has experience developing security control systems for airports and prisons, acknowledged that the regulatory framework for getting vertiports up and running is generally not as firmed up as it needs to be to make these business models viable and to inspire confidence in investors. In his view, United Arab Emirates authorities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are ahead of the game in this respect and he believes other Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia are also moving in the right direction and well-positioned to be early adopters. In this part of the world, other vertiport developers, including VPorts and Skyports, are also laying plans to create infrastructure.
At the MEBAA business aviation trade show in December 2022, Kookiejar reached an agreement with local helicopter operator Air Chateau to develop a vertiport alongside the heliport and VIP lounge at Dubai World Central Al Maktoum International Airport. This agreement was followed by a March 2023 memorandum of understanding to develop similar plans with Abu Dhabi-based ground handling group Terminals Holding.
Kookiejar expects to be ready to confirm the location of its first operational vertiport by early 2024. It is firming up plans through various technical partnerships such as that agreed upon in March 2023 with AirQual Technologies, which will provide an emergency and dispatching system for its operations management center.
