Wisk Aero today announced that Boeing is injecting $450 million to help advance its ambitious eVTOL program. Boeing has already been behind the project for over two years, but the US manufacturing powerhouse is now looking to take the venture to the next level.
Opportunities to be had
The global industry for flying taxis is set to be worth approximately $1.5 trillion by 2040. Therefore, the likes of Boeing have been keeping a close eye on the scene.
Boeing has been advancing test flights in this field with the Wisk Cora, which has now performed over 1,500 successful test flights. In June 2019, the Kitty Hawk Corporation and Boeing signed a deal to align in the field of urban air mobility. Therefore, a joint venture called Wisk Aero was formed later that year.
The progress with the two-person vehicle has continued into 2022. Notably, the program has secured $450 million from Boeing to continue advancing.
Wisk highlights that it is now the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) outfit with the most funds across the globe following the investment. It is now determined to hold the first eVTOL to be certified for autonomous, all-electric passenger services in the United States.
A strong presence
Altogether, Wisk expects around 14 million flights a year to be performed with its expansive fleet. This would help more than 40 million people across 20 cities save time and emissions on their travels.
“With this investment, we are reconfirming our belief in Wisk’s business and the importance of their work in pioneering all-electric, AI-driven, autonomous capability for the aerospace industry. Autonomy is the key to unlocking scale across all AAM applications, from passenger to cargo and beyond,” Boeing Chief Strategy Officer Marc Allen shared in a statement.
“That’s why straight-to-autonomy is a core first principle. Boeing and Wisk have been at the forefront of AAM innovation for more than a decade, and will continue to lead in the years ahead.”
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A significant transformation
Overall, eVTOLs are set to overhaul urban and short-haul transport in the coming years. Boeing is joined by several other influential aviation institutions when it comes to attention in this field. For instance, Airbus revealed a new all-electric multicopter last fall. The European aircraft manufacturer is looking to introduce more environmental forms of transport with its CityAirbus NextGen, which will bring sound levels under 65 dB(A) during fly-overs and lower than 70 dB(A) when landing.
Airlines and airports are also just as keen to jump on the momentum. In the United Kingdom, important stakeholders announced their backing of a 25-vertiport network across the country. Names such as Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, JAL, and Heathrow Airport are set to be operators of aircraft developed by Vertical Aerospace, which is heavily involved in this vertiport program.
The Wisk developments themselves have been seeing great progress since the project’s roots in 2010. For example, the program performed the world’s first autonomous air taxi trial in 2020. As with other notable eVTOL initiatives, we can expect to see a new look local transport network with these aircraft before the decade is over.
What are your thoughts about Boeing investing $450 million in Wisk? Do you feel that this is a good move by the company? Let us know what you think of the overall initiative and its prospects in the comment section.
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