SkyDrive Inc., an eVTOL aircraft manufacturer based in Japan, and Solyu Company, Ltd., an aircraft leasing company specializing in zero-emission in Korea, announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and Solyu has agreed to pre-order of up to 50 SkyDrive electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
SkyDrive is developing a three-seater electric, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft called SKYDRIVE. Its eVTOL is in the process of acquiring its Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) certification.
Solyu is a lessor based in Korea run by team with decades of experience in the aircraft leasing and finance industry with a focus on providing customers with zero emissions vehicles such as eVTOL, electric conventional take-off and landing (eCTOL) and electric short take-off and landing (eSTOL) aircraft.
In Korea, the metropolitan area faces a problem of severe traffic congestion, and the Korean government formed the Korea Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) Roadmap, expecting that the time and social costs can be reduced by 70 percent. The government also promotes the plan for public-private joint demonstration project, the K-UAM Grand Challenge.
Solyu believes it is important to promote the use of electric, zero-emission vehicles in Korea to accelerate the K-UAM goal and agreed on the pre-order of SkyDrive eVTOL.
SkyDrive and Solyu continue to evaluate commercial eVTOL considerations such as vertiports, routes, infrastructure requirements, and ecosystems with the Korean government and other interested stakeholders to launch new mobility solutions in Korea.
“The eVTOL market will bring opportunities for reducing global emissions and increasing traveler convenience,” said Andrew Claerbout, president of Solyu Company, Ltd.
“We’re honored to work with SkyDrive and the award-winning SD-05 to develop this global market.”
“We are pleased to announce that we received a pre-order in Korea following Vietnam and the U.S.,” said Tomohiro Fukuzawa, SkyDrive Inc. CEO. “This is the first pre-order from a leasing company, and we are very grateful to be able to proceed with the Solyu team with extensive experience in the aircraft leasing industry. We look forward to working with Solyu to open up the Korean market and contribute to achieve the goal of reducing CO2 emissions in the Korean aviation sector.”
This press release was prepared and distributed by SkyDrive.