United States-based Joby Aviation, which was established in 2009, intends to have its own air taxi service by 2025. The venture has now been cleared by the US FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) to start flight tests on its first production prototype air taxi, which the company aims to start shipping from 2024 onwards.
Leading Korean mobile operator and AI platform SK Telecom has also made a significant investment of USD 100 million to acquire approximately a 2% stake in Joby Aviation.
In today’s episode of International Finance’s ‘Start-up of the Week’, we will discuss in detail Joby Aviation and its eVTOL dreams.
Joby’s Electric Aerial Ridesharing
Joby’s flagship electric aircraft, powered by six electric motors, has emerged as an ideal candidate for aerial ridesharing in urban areas. The aircraft will also come with a ‘Zero Emissions’ control mechanism. Joby’s eVTOL will be operated by one pilot, whereas four passengers will be accommodated per ride. The top speed of the air taxi will be 200 MPH.
“With more than 1,000 test flights completed over the last 10 years, our aircraft has been designed to meet the uncompromising safety standards set by the FAA and other global aviation regulators. We’re now engaged in a multi-year testing program with the FAA to certify our vehicle for commercial operations,” Joby Aviation stated.
Joby’s eVTOL roadmap
The aircraft has the capability of taking off and landing like a helicopter. It will tilt its six rotors horizontally, before flying like an airplane. The eVTOL will be able to cover a distance up to 150 miles on a single charge, while cruising in the air almost silently.
Joby’s first production prototype rolled off the company’s assembly line in Marina, California, in June 2023. The facility has been built in partnership with Toyota. Toyota has been the air taxi venture’s largest investor with a USD 394 million stake. Toyota North America CEO Tetsuo Ogawa too has joined Joby’s board of directors.
The latest information is that Joby has got the FAA’s special airworthiness certificate, which will help the venture to perform the flight tests of its production model aircraft. From 2017 onwards, Joby has been testing its full-scale eVTOL prototypes. In May 2022, the company received the FAA’s ‘Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate’ for commercial operations. Joby has also teamed up with the American aviation behemoth Delta Air Lines to offer travel to and from airports.
If someone browses Joby’s website, he/she will find an exhibited scenario, where a journey from downtown New York City to the JFK airport in a Joby air taxi will take just seven minutes, 42 minutes shorter than a car trip.
Talking about Joby’s 2023 prospects, the company, which has also stitched up a strategic partnership with ride-hailing major Uber, must clear the full FAA type and production certification, which will take some 18 months from now on, as per the reports. Joby’s first customer, provided the air taxi venture completes all the required FAA certifications, will be the US Air Force, as part of the latter’s USD 131 million contracts under the ‘Agility Prime Program’.
The biggest advantage of the eVTOLs is that they take off and land vertically, thus eliminating the need for runway infrastructure. However, such a cost-effective business model has been a tough one to be implemented. In 2022, the Kittyhawk aircraft project got shut down. So, Joby Aviation has already got a decisive lead, when it comes to turning the dream of having commercial air taxi operations into a reality.
Joby is reportedly planning an operational ecosystem, where the people will download the Joby app, request a trip, and head over to one of the company’s many ‘skyports’, which is a lounge-styled vestibule next to a landing pad. From ‘skysports’, these individuals will get picked up by air taxis.
Charting Joby’s growth journey
Joby’s team of over 1500 passionate professionals is at the cusp of registering the historical feat of being the world’s first commercial air taxi operator, if things go as per the plans.
When the start-up began its journey in 2009, a small team of seven engineers started shaping Joby’s dreams in a Santa Cruz workshop. Technologies like electric motors, flight software, and lithium-ion batteries; everything got designed and developed from scratch in the facility. The company got its first break in 2012, when it was selected to collaborate with NASA on ground-breaking electric flight projects like the X-57 and LEAPTech.
In 2017, Joby Aviation’s first full-scale demonstrator took to the skies. In 2019, the pre-production prototype started a rigorous flight testing program.
“As well as becoming a strategic investor in Joby, Toyota has deployed dozens of engineers to work shoulder-to-shoulder with our team, lending their expertise on factory layout, manufacturing process development and high-volume production,” the venture commented, while describing its ties with the Japanese automobile giant.
Joby became the first eVTOL company to receive airworthiness approval from the US Air Force in 2020.
“We deepened our partnership with Uber, agreeing to integrate our aerial ridesharing service into the Uber app, and vice versa, across all U.S. launch markets. Uber increased their investment in Joby and we acquired the Elevate division, bringing their software tools and commercial launch expertise in-house,” Joby Aviation commented further.
“In 2020, we signed our Stage 4 G-1 certification basis with the FAA, having received an initial Stage 2 G-1 from the agency in 2019. This document lays out a clear path to certifying our aircraft for commercial flights,” it stated further.
During the same year, Joby got listed on the New York Stock Exchange, as its pre-production prototype flew over 5,300 miles, including a flight of 154.6 miles on a single charge.
“We also built a second pre-production prototype, completed our first FAA production conformity inspection and officially began our journey to become the first certified eVTOL airline. We received our Part 135 Air Carrier Certificate, which allows Joby to operate a commercial air taxi service,” the company commented, while narrating its growth journey.
The path ahead
Joby’s plan of having its commercial taxi service by 2025 has been on track so far. Be it prototype testing or earning the FAA and US Air Force certifications, things have been smooth for the venture. Now it has to cross the final barrier, a full FAA-type and production certification test in the next 18 months, to make sure that its air taxi dreams get fulfilled by 2025.
The future smart cities will revolve around the idea of having transportation, which, apart from cutting down their carbon footprint significantly, will ensure that the travelling time between the destinations will be reduced drastically. The nascent industry called the eVTOL has emerged as a viable solution to the challenge. With strategic tie-ups and a realistic approach to this challenge, Joby looks all set to revolutionise 21st century urban transportation.
Image Credits: Joby’s Aviation