According to Horizon Aircraft, a company that specializes in hybrid electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) vehicles, one of the eVTOL market segments that will experience the greatest growth over the following five years is air ambulance transport.
The development of battery technology, which will make flights longer than 100 miles more feasible and sustainable, will be crucial to the expansion of the eVTOL market. It is anticipated that over the next two years, battery technology will advance sufficiently to make this possible. 97% of private equity and venture capital professionals concur that an eVTOL should be used in a variety of transport markets, including air ambulance transport, from the perspective of investors.
What is the Company Saying About the Aircraft?
According to Brandon Robinson, CEO of Horizon Aircraft, eVTOLs are attractive to investors because of their versatility. He said, “We targeted early use cases for our special aircraft that are supported by strong economics. Our aircraft is built with current technology to perform useful work today across a wide range of missions, so it doesn’t need significant regulatory changes, enormous battery improvements, or new types of power systems.”
The Background of the Potential Electric Air Ambulance
A small group of businesses, among which Horizon Aircraft was one, were chosen by the US Air Force in 2022 to continue with the conceptual development of a High-Speed VTOL (HSVTOL) aircraft. The HSVTOL program seeks to create a plane capable of carrying out a variety of tasks, such as air ambulance evacuation. Over 200 businesses submitted proposals for the HSVTOL project. These were reduced to 35 solutions, and 11 of those were ultimately chosen for funding in the program’s Phase 1 phase.
The full-scale aircraft is expected to be propelled by a hybrid electric system that can recharge the battery array while it is in the air. The company is developing a full-scale aircraft while conducting extensive testing on a 50%-scale model to lower technical risk going forward.
