Future Flight Project
Petalite are chosen to lead the Future Flight and Land Infrastructure Programme (FFLIP)
Electric vertical take off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) uses electric power to hover, take off, and land vertically. They could revolutionize inter-and-intra-city movement, providing quick, direct, and clean mobility. It uses motors, batteries, fuel cells, and electronic controllers to generate electric power for hovering, taking off, and landing vertically. The global eVTOL aircraft market is expected to grow from $6.73 billion in 2021 to $8.09 billion in 2022, and is expected to grow to $18.92 billion by 2026 (USD)*.
Without the right charging infrastructure in place, eVTOLS cannot become a possible form of future transportation. That is why globally, pioneering start-ups and established aircraft manufacturers are developing eVTOL aircraft concepts to meet economic and sustainable solutions in this sector.
We are proud to be one of these global innovators as the only electric vehicle charging company engaged in a UK Government sponsored eVTOL innovation project. We have been chosen to lead the Future Flight and Land Infrastructure Programme (FFLIP), a project to support the high-power demands of electrical aircraft and airport infrastructure. We will deliver a full-scale demonstration site in Oxfordshire by quarter 1 in 2025.
To date, we have successfully achieved all our technology milestones and our SDC PowerCore design has been tested at an external EMC laboratory. Our team have worked with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to assist in creating charging infrastructure regulations specifically for eVTOLs. We also created a SmartCore system to reduce peak loading to solve the challenges of high-power consumption in high-density urban environments (HDUE).
This project is also supported by aerospace contract manufacturer Custom Interconnect Limited (CIL), Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), specialist aerospace technologists at Midlands Aerospace Alliance (MAA), systems integrator Vanti and eVTOL manufacturer, ARC Aerosystems.
With the support of these partners, we can deliver a rapid 600kW DC charging facility that will demonstrate multiple power configurations to support 24-hour rapid and reliable charging.