Joby Aviation is taking the wraps off the software system it has developed to support on-demand commercial air taxi services with its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft, which could enter service in 2025. Called “ElevateOS,” the suite of software tools includes a flight-booking mobile app for customers, a planning tool for pilots, and an intelligent matching engine that connects available pilots, aircraft, and ground infrastructure resources for each journey.

Electric propulsion system developer MagniX has unveiled its plans to produce a new range of batteries for aviation applications. The Samson batteries, announced on June 24, are expected to deliver an energy density of 300 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) and have a service life of over 1,000 full-depth discharge cycles.

For decades, the team at TE Connectivity (TE) has been helping design safe and efficient electrical power management systems for everything from military planes to moon landers. Now TE is supporting a new frontier: the emerging Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) industry.

Wencheng County Transportation Development Group in China’s Zhejiang province has taken delivery of 27 of the initial batch of 30 EH216-S eVTOL aircraft it is buying from EHang. This week, the Chinese manufacturer reported that it conducted the first passenger-carrying flight with its latest customer to mark the launch of a new tourism initiative based near the port city of Wenzhou on the East China Sea coast.

Ferrovial Vertiports is exploring locations in South Florida for eVTOL aircraft landing sites through a partnership with charter flight start-up UrbanLink Air Mobility. Miami-based UrbanLink plans to operate the six-passenger Lilium Jet to connect communities such as Miami, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and Marco Island, starting in the summer of 2026.

Spanish business aircraft management group iJet Aviation is laying plans to operate eVTOL aircraft on routes in the country’s Andalusia region. On June 19, the company signed a provisional sales agreement with Madrid-based start-up Crisalion Mobility to acquire 10 of its in-development Integrity aircraft.

Archer Aviation plans to establish a network of five vertiports around the San Francisco Bay Area, where the company could begin flying passengers on its Midnight eVTOL air taxi as early as 2025. Announcing the news on June 20, Archer said it is collaborating with Kilroy Realty to potentially develop a main hub at Oyster Point, a waterfront business park in South San Francisco. Additional vertiports could open in Napa, San Jose, Oakland, and Livermore.

Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Development Centre and Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources have pledged to back UK-based rotorcraft and eVTOL aircraft developer Arc Aerosystems with funding for development work and manufacturing facilities. At the Revolution Aero conference in London on June 18, Arc’s founder and CEO, Seyed Mohseni, pitched for bridge funding to keep the start-up functioning while the terms of the funding are finalized.

Leonardo's Swiss subsidiary Kopter is seeking to reinvent or expand the scope for single-engine helicopter operations with its new AW09 rotorcraft. The long-awaited new model has started flight testing with EASA pilots as it prepares for type certification. AIN was able to view the AW09 at the recent EBACE trade show and got a close-up perspective on how it might change the market.