AAM_Tech_Developments

The first dedicated university research program for electric aircraft batteries in the U.S. has been launched by the University of Michigan.

The low-altitude flight test was conducted at Willcox Playa, Arizona, on March 14.

Startup Transcend Air has redesigned its turbine-powered tiltwing VTOL aircraft and is working to raise the funds required to build a proof-of-concept vehicle.

Trade-offs involving battery weight and range are inevitable in electric aviation, but German startup Vaeridion thinks that it has a novel solution.

The Amprius battery cell has a power density of 400 Wh/kg at a C/5 discharge rate typical of electric vehicles.

The Aska A5 eVTOL vehicle has six propellers mounted on fore and aft wings that are folded along the top of the fuselage in drive mode.

Vertical Aerospace said it will begin conducting crewed thrust-borne test flights of its full-scale VX4 prototype.

Joby Aviation has confirmed the first flight of its initial production prototype S4 electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) air taxi.

Both Universal Hydrogen and ZeroAvia are developing hydrogen-electric retrofits for the ATR 72.

The LimoConnect V2 was unveiled July 22 at the Electric Aircraft Symposium in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

French startup Aura Aero flew its Integral S training aircraft for the first time on July 28 from Toulouse-Francazal airport.

Some startups—including Netherlands-based PAL-V and California-based Alef Aeronautics—believe flying cars might offer a more efficient solution.

Russia is developing technology for a hybrid-electric regional airliner, with plans to fly a demonstrator in 2026, news agency Tass says.

China’s AutoFlight is claiming a world first with the formation flight of three prototypes of its planned Prosperity 1 air taxi.

Ribbit is a Toronto-based startup that is using autonomy to help improve air cargo access to far-flung communities in Northern Canada.

Diamond Aircraft completed the first flight of its eDA40 electric training aircraft from Weiner Neustadt, Austria, on July 20.

Crane Aerospace & Electronics is to collaborate with Heart Aerospace to define the power distribution system for the Swedish startup’s planned ES-30 electric regional airliner.

Having received U.S. FAA approval for their continuous autopilot system certification plan, Reliable Robotics says it will now shift to testing and validation.

Hybrid-electric propulsion pioneer Ampaire has acquired Talyn Air, a U.S. startup developing an electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft.

The 23%-scale powered model is being tested in the RUAG wind tunnel in Emmen, Switzerland.

The first free flight of the VX4 took off from historic Cotswold Airport in Kemble, a village in Gloucestershire, England.

U.S. startup VerdeGo Aero and Germany’s Roder Prazision have developed a version of the SR305 diesel-cycle aeroengine for use in hybrid-electric powertrains.

South Korean drone maker This Is Engineering (TIE) has unveiled its concept for an autonomous passenger electric-vertical-takeoff-and-landing air taxi.

Toyota has laid out a road map for electric vehicle development that could see solid-state lithium-ion batteries being commercialized by 2027-28.

Collins Aerospace says it is on track to open a $50 million aircraft electrification and electric propulsion laboratory dubbed "The Grid" in October.