• 15 Aug 2018 03:23 PM
• 0

VerdeGo Becomes eVTOL Propulsion Provider

Florida-based VerdeGo Aero has refocused its efforts from developing its PAT200 tandem tiltwing eVTOL aircraft towards developing powertrain and controls solutions. The company announced on Aug. 1 that it was launching its Integrated Distributed Electric Propulsion (IDEP) systems to be a supplier for other eVTOL developers. VerdeGo President Erik Lindbergh said that “As our customers focus on designing, developing, and producing more than 20,000 aircraft by 2035, VerdeGo will be helping them open up this $30B+ transportation market”. In the press release, the company said:

More than 100 aircraft companies around the world are now competing for a share of the Urban Air Mobility ‘Flying car’ market. Many of these new aircraft concepts were inspired by small-scale consumer drone designs. There are critical differences in propulsion systems, aircraft control, and safety that make developing a 2,000+ lb [1 t] aircraft far more challenging than a lightweight drone.

VerdeGo Aero’s IDEP systems “are designed as end-to-end solutions with integrated hardware and software to provide energy, redundancy, power distribution, propulsion, and attitude control for a wide array of vertical takeoff (VTOL) and distributed electric propulsion (DEP) aircraft platforms.” The first generation IDEP systems are sized for 2–3 seat (200–350 hp/150–260 kW) and 5–7 seat (500–800 hp/375–600 kW) aircraft and contain hybrid generators to enable eVTOL “to be viable with technologies available today.” As battery technologies mature, VerdeGo’s modular IDEP systems will also be configured with rechargeable battery packs providing the primary power.