Neom, Volocopter JV to create world’s first bespoke public Evtol mobility system

Neom and Volocopter have formed a joint venture (JV) to develop the world’s first bespoke public vertical mobility system.

Air taxi and vertical logistics services will be fully integrated with the overall multi-modal and zero-emission public transit system in Neom. The JV will be the sole operator of initial public transit routes across Neom, while enabling an open eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) ecosystem for vertical mobility services including logistics, emergency response, and tourism.

Neom has placed a confirmed order of 15 Volocopter aircraft to commence initial flight operations within the next 2-3 years.

Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO at Neom said: “In designing cities and urban infrastructure for the 21st century, mobility is at the centre of the equation. Neom is on a mission to become a global living lab for future mobility, and we are very excited to see what the future holds as we grow.”

On this new partnership, chief commercial officer at Volocopter Christian Bauer stated: “It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be an essential part of designing and operating a completely new UAM ecosystem from the ground up without the constraint of legacy infrastructure or regulation.”

Volocopter and Neom have agreed an initial order of 10 VoloCity passenger and 5 VoloDrone logistics aircraft to support early activation of flight operations. The JV will scale-up its activities from the beginning of 2022 to incubate urban air mobility (UAM) in the region and seed a vertical mobility ecosystem.