Aeroports de Catalunya and EHang to collaborate on establishing new urban air mobility platform in Europe
EHang has announced a strategic partnership agreement with Aeroports de Catalunya, with both parties looking to develop a test base and showroom at Lledia-Alguaire Airport in Spain.
This will include test studies related to autonomous flight technologies and airspace management, helping to transport the airport into ‘an innovative platform’ for urban air mobility in Europe. They will also collaborate on passenger transportation, aerial logistics, take-off and landing infrastructure, airspace management and regulatory certification.
Victoria Xiang, CEO of EHang Spain & Latin America, said: “The Lleida-Alguaire Airport is a good platform for innovation under the management of Generalitat de Catalunya. The partnership allows EHang to develop, test and demonstrate its autonomous aerial vehicles and supporting infrastructure in an airport environment, which will greatly promote UAM and create a more integrated and sustainable air space.”
Aeroports de Catalunya is a public company of the Generalitat de Catalunya, assigned to the Departament de Territori i Sostenibilitat, whose main task is to manage airports, aerodromes, and helipads of the Generalitat de Catalunya. In addition, its corporate purposes include the research and development in air transport and space.
Through the partnership with Aeroports de Catalunya, EHang will explore the application of AAV under the airport environment and further advocate safe, autonomous and eco-friendly air mobility solutions in Europe, promoting the innovative development of urban air mobility with global partners.
Damià Calvet, the Minister of Territory and Mobility for the Government of Catalunya, said: “The partnership with EHang will bring a lot of value to the airport and Catalunya. The two parties will further explore and advance the development of urban air mobility, and continue to move forward on the path of innovative and sustainable development with global partners to create a better life for Catalunya.”
The partnership also expands EHang’s presence in Spain, after it announced last week that the city of Zaragoza will be the company’s fourth to join its UAM Pilot City initiative. The cities of Lliria and Seville are also part of the programme.
EHang also confirmed last month that it is working on a longer-range eVTOL aircraft — known as the VT30 — with a range of more than 300km. Its current flagship model, the 216, has a range of 35km and is currently autonomous, but EHang said it plans to build a piloted version in the near future.