To Jointly Develop Actuators for eVTOL
Hanwha Aerospace announced on July 21 that it has signed a letter of intent for partnership in the field of urban air mobility (UAM) with Vertical Aerospace of the United Kingdom, a pioneer in the development of air taxis.
Established in 2016, Vertical Aerospace designs and builds zero emission, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. It was listed on the New York Exchange in 2021.
Hanwha Aerospace held a signing ceremony at the Farnborough Air Show in the U.K. in the presence of the company's president Shin Hyun-woo and Vertical Aerospace president Michael Cervenka on July 20 (local time).
Vertical Aerospace is developing the eVTOL VX4 for commercialization in 2025. The company has thus far booked more than 1,400 pre-orders for the eVTOL VX4 from global airline companies.
Accordingly, Hanwha Aerospace is planning to develop electromechanical actuators (EMAs) optimized for the eVTOL VX4 in partnership with Vertical Aerospace. It also plans to build an EMA mass production system.
An EMA controls various mechanical operations of a UAM machine through the rotational power of the motor using electric power. It is mainly applied to flight control devices that control the direction and balance of an aircraft.