Overair, Hanwha Systems, and Jeju Province to collaborate on Advanced Air Mobility Ecosystem

eVTOL air­craft devel­op­er Overair has signed with Han­wha Sys­tems and South Korea’s Jeju Spe­cial Self Gov­ern­ing Province to estab­lish an advanced air mobil­i­ty (AAM) ecosys­tem in Jeju, the largest island in South Korea and one of the country’s main tourist des­ti­na­tions.

The par­ties will col­lab­o­rate on infra­struc­ture, man­u­fac­tur­ing, train­ing, and main­te­nance, repair, and oper­a­tions (MRO). This agree­ment also includes the estab­lish­ment of a coop­er­a­tive plan to devel­op both pub­lic, med­ical, and tourism AAM oper­a­tions on the Island.

“Jeju Island is a beau­ti­ful resort des­ti­na­tion, and it’s an ide­al hub for advanced air mobil­i­ty giv­en its geog­ra­phy and its ambi­tion to become car­bon neu­tral by 2030,” said Ben Tign­er, CEO at Overair. “We look for­ward to col­lab­o­rat­ing with our part­ners at Han­wha Sys­tems.”

Jeju Island is an impor­tant tourism, green ener­gy, and eco­log­i­cal province for South Korea. The island is cur­rent­ly prepar­ing to become car­bon neu­tral by 2030, pro­duc­ing all of its ener­gy needs from renew­able, zero-emis­sion sources. Jeju Island is also a reg­is­tered bios­phere, with unique geog­ra­phy and ecol­o­gy that draws tourists from across the world.

“With Overair and Han­wha Sys­tems, we are ush­er­ing in a new era of sus­tain­able and inno­v­a­tive trans­porta­tion for Jeju Island,” said Jeju Island Gov­er­nor Oh Young-hun.

“This col­lab­o­ra­tion sup­ports our 2030 car­bon neu­tral­i­ty goal, enhances tourism, and pro­vides employ­ment for our com­mu­ni­ty, paving the way for a green­er and more con­nect­ed future.”

Jeju Island is the only self-gov­ern­ing province in South Korea and the largest, with about 700,000 res­i­dents and 15 mil­lion vis­i­tors per year. It is home to a small tech­nol­o­gy hub, where in 2005, the Jeju Sci­ence Park was cre­at­ed, a com­plex for tech­nol­o­gy com­pa­nies and organ­i­sa­tions, since when it has attract­ed 117 IT and biotech com­pa­nies.

In June 2022, Overair announced an invest­ment of $145 mil­lion from Han­wha Sys­tems and Han­wha Aero­space to fly its But­ter­fly all-elec­tric exper­i­men­tal pro­to­type in the sec­ond half of 2023. Han­wha will also pro­vide elec­tric motors and bat­tery packs for Overair’s pro­to­types, as the two com­pa­nies expand their R&D co-oper­a­tion.

Han­wha Group invests $145 mil­lion in Overair to Devel­op eVTOL Air­craft