Eve Air Mobility this week named three key suppliers for its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft. In an announcement on November 6, the company said it will use Garmin’s G3000 integrated flight deck for the vehicle’s avionics suite. Liebherr-Aerospace will supply flight control actuators and Intergalactic will provide the thermal management system.
On November 7, Eve announced results for the third quarter of 2023, during which it had a net loss of $31.2 million compared with $36.7 million in the same period last year. Setting aside non-recurring warrant-related expenses associated with Eve’s PIPE investments for its New York Stock Exchange flotation and merger with Zanite Acquisition in May 2022, the net loss for the period ending on September 30 was $19.3 million.
During the third quarter, Eve spent $22.4 million as research and development work for its eVTOL aircraft increased, and through the end of September, the company had spent a total of $70.2 million so far this year, compared with $39.1 million in the first nine months of 2022. The increase in costs was largely driven by spending associated with its master services agreement under which it is jointly developing the new aircraft with Brazilian airframer Embraer, its majority shareholder.
At the end of the third quarter, Eve held cash, cash equivalents, financial investments, and a loan from Embraer, totaling $256.5 million The company has now received around $11.6 million of the $97.9 million available to it in credit lines issued by Brazil’s National Development Bank that were approved in December 2022.
The G3000 flight deck features large-format, lightweight, high-resolution glass displays that will be integrated with the Eve aircraft’s vehicle management and flight control systems. This is intended to give pilots easy access through touchscreen controls to the integrated flight management system, the navigation and communications radios, transponders, and audio management system, as well as checklists, charts, synoptics and full-featured maps.
Liebherr will develop electromechanical actuators for the fly-by-wire flight controls. These will be powered by the aircraft’s electrical system, with an emphasis on the design being readily configured to suit the small airframe and easy to maintain.
Intergalactic’s thermal management system will maintain an optimal temperature for all equipment, including the batteries and other electrical components. It will also control the temperature in the cabin.
“Each of our suppliers undergoes a very stringent review that evaluates not only the performance and quality of their product but also their dedication to continuous improvement and customer support and satisfaction,” commented Eve Air Mobility CEO Johann Bordais.
In July, Eve said that it would build the eVTOL aircraft at a factory at Taubaté in Brazil's São Paulo state, close to Embraer's facilities. The company has started to build its first full-scale prototype and expects to start flying this in 2024. It aims to start delivering the aircraft to customers in 2026.
