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Japan’s Kanematsu Corporation led a group of new investors backing the first close in a $23 million Series B funding round for advanced air mobility ground infrastructure specialist and drone operator Skyports. The diverse trading group, which will appoint a director to the UK-based start-up’s board, was joined by industrial real estate company Goodman Group, Italian airport and infrastructure funds 2i Aeroporti and F2i, and GreenPoint, a U.S.-based venture-capital firm.
According to Skyports, the additional funding&nbsp;will help it to step up its partnerships with several eVTOL aircraft developers and operators, for which it is planning to build and operate vertiports in several locations worldwide. The company also intends to scale up its drone operations services in Europe and Asia.
All of Skyports’ existing institutional investors also back the latest funding round, with several of them increasing their stakes in the company. These include Deutsche Bahn Digital Ventures, Aeroports de Paris, Solar Ventus, Irelandia, and Levitate Capital. Meanwhile, DHL eCommerce CEO Ken Allen is joining the Skyports board as a non-executive director.
“This is another great milestone for Skyports as we continue our journey to be the leading vertiport owner and operator in the world,” commented CEO Duncan Walker. “The support of our original investors who have deep experience in aviation and infrastructure and the addition of new capital from world-class companies with a global footprint enables us to build the air taxi ecosystem alongside our best-in-class partners for initial operations in a couple of years.”
In December 2019, Skyports raised $6.9 million through a Series A funding round. It has now accumulated a total of over $33 million.
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Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

Japan's Kanematsu Group Leads $23 Million Series B Funding Round for Skyports

The Japan Civil Aviation Bureau has commissioned Skyports and Eve Urban Air Mobility to develop a concept of operations (CONOPS) for advanced air mobility in the country, including eVTOL air taxi services.&nbsp;&nbsp;The project, which is also backed by Japan Airlines and trading group Kanematsu, will focus on issues such as airspace design for eVTOL aircraft, operational arrangements, and infrastructure, the companies announced on February 17.
The Japanese government has established a Public-Private Conference for the Future of Air Mobility Revolution and has expressed support for plans to launch commercial eVTOL flights during the 2025 World Expo to be held in&nbsp;Osaka. This objective—which is being advanced by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Investment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism—also involves other eVTOL vehicle developers, including Joby, Vertical Aerospace, EHang, Volocopter, and local manufacturer SkyDrive.
This week, during a press conference at the Singapore Airshow, Eve’s co-CEO, Andre Stein, said the company aims to be ready to fly a full-scale proof-of-concept prototype of its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft within the next few months. It seeks&nbsp;to bring the aircraft into service in 2026 with a range of just over 60 miles. The company predicts that by 2035, the Asia-Pacific region will be the world’s largest AAM market with over 25,000 eVTOL aircraft making 400,000 flights each day and carrying 500 million passengers per year. It also has plans to support air taxi operations in the Americas.
“Our partnership with Eve continues to provide an important means of helping authorities around the world understand and develop optimum conditions to enable commercial electric air taxi operations,” said Skyports CEO Duncan Walker. “We are honored to be able to bring our unique knowledge of infrastructure provision to bear for JCAB to accelerate the adoption of advanced air mobility across Japan.”
Skyports, which already operates commercial cargo drone flights, intends to develop and operate vertiports&nbsp;worldwide. It is also partnered with other eVTOL aircraft developers including Volocopter, and also with South Korean group Hanwha, which is partnered with U.S. company Overair to develop the Butterfly aircraft.

Skyports and Eve Start Work on eVTOL Concept of Operations for Japan

Advanced air mobility infrastructure group Skyports recently acquired one of only two public heliports in London. The facility, which is&nbsp;close to the UK capital’s Canary Wharf financial district, will now be developed as a potential vertiport for eVTOL aircraft.
The landing site, which is operating under the name Skyports London Heliport, will continue to be available to helicopter operators. Skyports purchased it&nbsp;for an undisclosed sum from private owners who had operated it as the Falcon Heliport. 
Skyports says it will start using the facility to evaluate vertiport operations and equipment as part of its plans to provide infrastructure for eVTOL air taxi services in the UK and other countries. Last year, the UK-based company announced plans to develop a vertiport in the north London suburb of Brent Cross, and it is also working on prospective sites in the U.S., France, South Korea, and Singapore.
Flight time in an eVTOL aircraft from the heliport, on the east side of the city, is estimated at&nbsp;20 minutes to any of the London airports and 50 minutes to Bristol in the west of England. 
According to Skyports, eVTOL aircraft will be quieter, less expensive, and more environmentally sustainable than existing helicopters. “The acquisition demonstrates our ambition to deliver a network of operational landing sites for eVTOLs and our commitment to making the UK a leader in the decarbonization of domestic aviation,” said Skyports’ head of Europe and the Middle East, Damian Kysely. “The heliport will also provide us with an important live operating environment in which we can safely develop and test our vertiport systems, collect operational data, and mature our vertiport technologies.”
The city’s other heliport is in&nbsp;Battersea on the west side of central London. It is owned by David and Simon Reuben, who also own Oxford Airport in the UK.

Skyports Infrastructure

News

Japan's Kanematsu Group Leads $23 Million Series B Funding Round for Skyports

Skyports and Eve Start Work on eVTOL Concept of Operations for Japan

Skyports Buys London's Falcon Heliport for eVTOL Operations

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