Urban-Air Port has released its vision of Air One, an airport for electric autonomous aircraft and large drones.
The 17,000 square foot facility is designed to be the world’s first fully operational “pop-up” airport and charging hub for future electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
Urban-Air Port has received support from the U.K. government to build these hubs that will function as both passenger travel and cargo-carrying aircraft locations. The hub will bring government, industry and public companies together to demonstrate urban air mobility to reduce congestion, cut air pollution and decarbonize transportation.
In the video demonstration, various Air One hubs are shown in different configurations depending on the needs of the region. This could include one hub using only cargo drones, another for just passenger travel aircraft and a hybrid hub with both delivery drones and unmanned passenger travel aircraft.
Urban-Air Port is a wholly owned subsidiary of Six Miles Across London Limited (small) and the hubs will provide zero emission infrastructure for future autonomous aircraft, a market that could be worth up to $500 billion in the future.
Air One is the first hub that will be used as a “pop-up” infrastructure to be placed across the U.K. The facility is constructed using steel and aluminum wrapped in tensile translucent fabric. Air One will be powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The first of these hubs is scheduled to be in the center of Coventry in the West Midlands, U.K., and will be open later this month.
Air taxis, cargo drones and other aircraft could start using the airport in 2025 with the first cargo drones expected to take off later this month.
“We wanted to create a multi-functional operations hub for manned and unmanned vehicles providing aircraft command and control, refueling, cargo and passenger loading," said Ricky Sandhu, founder and CEO of Urban-Air Port, to Dezeen. "This new, green intermodal infrastructure will remove the largest, single constraint to sustainable air mobility and significantly cut congestion and air pollution from passenger and cargo transport and create a zero-emission ecosystem.”
Last year, Hyundai Motor Group’s Urban Air Mobility Division worked with Urban-Air Port to develop blueprints and foundations for air mobility infrastructure.
