There isn’t even a flying full-sized prototype, nor a complete industrial infrastructure. And the regulators have still to define the exact set of rules to approve the vehicle. Yet, Embraer’s Eve Urban Air Mobility is positive that all these crucial elements will be in place in 2026 to start a whole new chapter in aviation. Eve UAM, together with Vertical Aerospace, is in pole position to become the major player in this market. But even with Letters of Intent for 1.825 eVTOL vehicles, Eve still needs to tick a few boxes. Embraer's Eve aware of public acceptance issues of UAMs. During the recent Embraer Media Days in Brazil at which AirInsight was present, Eve’s co-CEO André Stein updated the media on the program. But one topic wasn’t mentioned at first: that of public acceptance of the UAM ecosystem. In densely populated megacities like Sao Paulo, Singapore, or London, people might have gotten used to helicopters flying around all day. But it begs the question if electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing vehicles (eVTOLs) will be accepted in countries – like The Netherlands – where public acceptance of flying (by environmentalists) seems to diminish by the month. At last September’s Airbus Summit in Toulouse, the topic of social acceptance of UAMs was also raised at the launch of the CityAirbus NextGen. Head of UAM strategy, Balkiz Sarihan, confirmed that “the voice of the citizens, the voice of the community, must be heard.” She added: “It doesn’t work if we say ‘this is great, because we as an aviation company say it is great.’ That’s the wrong conversation. It is really about talking to the citizens and saying ‘here are your mobility needs, your emergency services needs, what’s missing, tell us what is working?’ For some cities, it will be ‘no’ and for some, it will be ‘yes, but not now.’’ Eve UAM published this slide in December 2021 on its survey of consumer willingness of using eVTOLs for transportation. (Eve UAM) Asked which role public acceptance plays in Eve’s initiatives, Andre Stein says: “We started this project by talking to potential users. We did a lot of different surveys. We did a concept of operations (CONOPS) with helicopters in Rio de Janeiro, where we flew with 600 passengers to get their feedback. We are engaging with communities around the globe, and with authorities. Like in London, where we led a consortium of different companies for our CONOPS that also included members of the community to understand the pinpoints and to make sure we don’t create new pinpoints like pollution, and noise pollution. Because that is one of the reasons why helicopters aren’t all over the place: the costs are high and they are noisy. We are trying to address that. The engagement of the public is essential.” But engaging is one, getting acceptance is something else. Trials in Rio de Janeiro The Concept of Operations in Rio de Janeiro has been tested for a month last November. As if they were eVTOLs, helicopters were operating between the Barra de Tijuca neighborhood and Rio Galeao International Airport. The tests were done with eleven partners like Helisul, Skyports, Flapper, and the Department of Airspace Control (DECEA), under the supervision of the Brazilian regulatory agency ANAC, which is involved with the UAM program since 2017. In November 2021, Eve used a helicopter equipped with cameras and a Lidar scanner for a trial of the concept of operations. (Embraer) For the trial, a piloted helicopter was equipped with systems that helped Eve learn about autonomous flight. The helicopter featured seven cameras and a Lidar 3D scanner, from which data was fed into artificial intelligence algorithms. These will be able to make decisions on how to fly the vehicle. For example, the system should identify other objects in the air and fly around them, like birds or other aircraft. Using a kind of QR code on the landing platforms, cameras would command the vehicle on how and where to make a good landing. For now, the system assists the pilot but at a later stage will be fitted on the fully autonomous version of the Eve. “The trial in Rio helped us to better understand the requirements for the air traffic management system that we are developing for Eve UAM. It also helped us to better understand the pricing of the flights as we were selling tickets and surveyed if the user was really willing to pay. And a lot of technical aspects were covered”, explained Stein. In its December investor presentation ahead of the sale to Zanite, Eve said that a ticket for thirty kilometer trip on a piloted vehicle would cost $100 per passenger and $50 for the unmanned version. The results of the trials have been published in early May. “It is a very comprehensive document that helps us create the blueprint for the future of our operations. We already issued similar documents in Australia, the UK, and Miami, and are working with the Japanese authorities. The one from Rio adds the simulation that gives us a great path to the future of urban air mobility.” Lessor Avolon, who is committed to acquiring eVTOLs from Vertical Aerospace, said on June 2 that it has partnered with GOL, Corporacion Americas Airports, Grupo Comporte, and Vertical to define vertiport design and locations in Brazil. With its well-developed Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market based on helicopter services, advanced aviation ecosystem, and unique demographics, Brazil is set to become one of the pioneering markets for eVTOL services, including for Vertical’s VX4", Avolon said in a media statement. Certification Eve UAM will unveil a full-scale model of the cabin at the upcoming Farnborough Airshow in July. It has already been test-flying a simulator at its facilities near Sao Jose dos Campos, which is used to develop the control laws of the avionics system. It has flown sub-scale models and later this year, it will fly a full-size model, although it won’t look like the final version. Stein said. The actual first flight of the real prototype is not expected until 2024/2025, with certification planned in 2026. “The main point is not rushing a prototype for investors but assuring that you are developing the right product. You don’t want to go back to the drawing board again. (…) We aren’t rushing to be the first in the market. We are doing it right and be one of the pioneers.” While he mentions Singapore as a potential first market that will see entry into service of eVTOLs, Stein isn’t willing to speculate more on which will be the first one. Eve announced on June 7 that it expects to deliver the first eVTOLs to Dubai-based operator Falcon, which plans to operate 35 vehicles from Atlantis, The Palm for scenic flights and later urban transportation. A full-size model of the Eve will be flown later this year, although it won't look the same as the final version. (Eve UAM) Eve, which itself has a headcount of some 100 employees but has access to the 4.000 engineers of Embraer, hopes to benefit from the same certification roadmap that has been used by Embraer before. “Like we have been doing with other Embraer products, we are using ANAC as the primary certification organization. It has special bilateral agreements with the FAA. This allows us to have the undivided attention of ANAC, which gives us a lot of confidence that we will get the same result as in other programs when we got triple certification on the same day with ANAC, the FAA, and EASA, as we had on the E2-family.” If that is realistic, remains to be seen. The FAA confirmed in May that it intends to certify eVTOLs as power-lifting devices instead of as light aircraft under FAR Part 23 as had been expected. By doing so, it wants to simplify the pathway for applicants to get approval. This procedural change should not delay the certification of eVTOLs. André Stein expects ANAC will now adopt the same procedure, but he is “comfortable with that” there will be delays. “With clearer definitions (for eVTOLs), it actually helps a lot of maturing things before moving to the next step. It raises the bar a bit, but it doesn’t jeopardize our plans. It’s the other way around.” Advisory role for Porsche Consulting If Eve succeeds in confirming all the Letters of Intent it has with nineteen potential customers like SkyWest, Republic Airways, Kenya Airways, Japan Airlines, Helisul, Bristow, or Ascent, it will have to produce over 1.800 eVTOLs from 2026. The December presentation mentioned an estimated 75 deliveries in the first year, growing to 340 in 2027, 481 in 2028, 801 in 2029, and 1.117 in 2030. “We know a thing or two about manufacturing aircraft but here we are talking about volumes that’s something different that no one has done before”, said Stein. The eVTOL industry could learn a lot from the automotive industry, he said. That’s why Eve announced a partnership with Porsche Consulting last week to help it define supply chain, manufacturing, and logistics issues. The joint study will take until the end of this year and allows Eve to share the resources and experience the German sportscar manufacturer has gained with restructurings over the past decades. Part of the logistics process is looking at the lifetime of the batteries of the eVTOL. Due to the strong power requirements on vertical landings, they will have only a limited life of probably only a year on the vehicle before they need replacement. Stein said that Eve is discussing with energy companies how to re-use the batteries in other applications. “It is a must, I can’t over emphasize how important it is for us to go in that direction.” Embraer/Eve plans to unveil a full-scale cabin model at the Farnborough Airshow in July. (Eve UAM) Cash needs Until December, Eve was part of Embraer’s accelerator program Embraer X but it decided to spin off Eve UAM as an independent company and sell it to Zanite. The enterprise value is $2.4 billion. Since May 10, Eve is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and raised $400 million in new capital. “It is the first time the Group has done that. Embraer remains the majority stakeholder in Eve, but it will give us an edge that wouldn’t have been possible if we had remained a business unit of Embraer”, says Stein. The $400 million will be adequate to fulfill Eve’s cash needs for the coming years, he added, especially as the current cash burn is lower than that of other start-ups. If it would need additional funding, Eve is prepared to wait for the right moment to go to the financial market. Alternatively, it could go to Brazilian banks or do a capital increase on the stock market, but this is not something needed for the foreseeable time.
