Bryan Bernhard
Shortly after Archer announced its plan to install electric aircraft charging equipment at a handful of fixed-base terminals operated by Atlantic Aviation, the startup's chief growth and infrastructure officer, Bryan Bernhard, sat down with the AAM Report to share his vision for building out infrastructure and charging networks. A partial transcript follows:
AAM Report: What role will FBOs like Atlantic Aviation play in Archer’s future network?
Bernhard: In the early days, we think that existing aviation assets will be the key to unlock early entry-into-market, and Atlantic Aviation has over 100 assets in all the major markets. So, this agreement allows us to work together to begin to talk about access and entry-into-service to those assets, more specifically in Northern and Southern California, Miami and New York City.
For us, this announcement is really exciting because it allows us to put a pin on a map and say, ‘this is an actual operational asset that we can now begin to move forward and prepare for service.’
What level of service will you be able to provide at each one of these FBO sites?
This agreement allows us to look at each asset and start to do that discovery process. We have a very strong experience checklist where we’re looking at passenger experience, on top of all the other operational things including air traffic management, first and last mile connectivity, etc. And so we’ll actually be able to look at all those things and really understand what level of infrastructure is needed at each one of these Atlantic assets.
It could be something as simple as dropping in a charger, or it could be one or more chargers with a supplemental building. There will also be some nuanced work to be done at the existing Atlantic asset to make sure the experience is suitable for eVTOL, because we know that people flying in on their private jets to that FBO may not be the same people who will be using our air taxi service. So this is a discovery process that will happen at each asset to see what the necessary level of infrastructure is.
What is the minimum level of service that Archer would provide at one of its sites?
There are really three things. Each asset needs to have a space for the vehicle to take off and land; it needs to have high-speed charging which is all-electric, 350 kW—the same as a Tesla V4 Supercharger; and it has to have a terminal building that can nail that experience and do all the operational things like security, bag check, etc. So it’s a combination of those three things–that’s the minimum viable product at each one of these locations.
Archer recently installed chargers made by Beta Technologies at some of its facilities. What is the relationship between Archer and Beta?
We’ve been working with GAMA [General Aviation Manufacturers Association] for the last year, and the intent was that all the major OEMs should come together and focus on interoperability for charging. So, essentially, most of the OEMs have aligned behind CCS-1 [Combined-Charging Standard], and Beta just happened to be producing that type of charger.
They’re a fantastic partner. They’re focused on interoperability, and they have a great team with electrification and infrastructure experience, and so we think they’re ripe to be successful in that space. Now, this doesn’t mean that all of our chargers will come from Beta; it’s just that their charger happened to be available, interoperable and based on CCS-1.
How important is interoperability for the industry’s success?
In the early days, when multiple OEMs will be struggling to get off the ground, we want to try to make those dollars work for us as long as possible and light up as many locations as possible. And it’s easier to do that if we align on a charging standard. It’s more challenging to light up multiple locations when each OEM has to spend its own money out of pocket to install its own charger. So interoperability is great for the industry and the overall go-to-market strategy.
Do you expect the industry will eventually move beyond CCS-1?
The interface is going to evolve over time, likely from CCS-1 for the first few years, and then to MCS, which is a higher power charging standard that allows for up to 500 kW, versus 350 kW for CCS-1. That shift will probably occur along a four-to-six year time horizon. It will unlock a higher throughput for charging, and then some vehicles will have to make slight adjustments to their infrastructure to be able to receive that MCS solution.
Will there be a challenge getting enough electricity at some of these sites?
Some locations have challenges. If there’s an existing GA airport that is relatively off the grid and has been mostly focused on gas-powered vehicles, I can see where that would be an issue, and that does present itself in a few select locations. But look at it this way: there are about 20,000 Tesla Superchargers that exist in the U.S., and what we’ll be asking for is just 50 to 100 in the first few years.
But we’ll also work with the electrical providers. For example [electricity company] ComEd in Chicago talks with us every few weeks to make sure we are aligned with our go-to-market plan, so I think we’ll be able to carve out those resources. There could be some challenges when we’re talking about scaled operations, but if the industry is moving in the direction that we think it’s going to, regulators and electrical providers should easily be able to procure the resources.
How do you see the build-out of vertiport infrastructure progressing in the coming years?
It’s going to be a portfolio approach. Ultimately, in the early years we’ll be using existing aviation assets, whether that be an FBO, a GA airport or a Class B airport. And then as the industry gets adoption, and more money comes into the industry, I think you’ll start to see a differentiation where people are allowed to put their own unique vertiports, and it will be an amenity for cities and businesses and workplaces.
The differentiation will come with time. If you need 1,000 vertiports, there has to be new assets being built with greenfield locations, and there has to be investment dollars that come into play. But the very first vertiports are not going to be brand-new assets, they’re going to use existing assets because, quite frankly, it’s already zoned for aviation, and all you need to do is drop in a charger.
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