Saudi Arabia’s NEOM and Germany’s Volocopter, the pioneer of urban air mobility, have established a joint venture company to design, implement, and operate the world’s first bespoke public vertical mobility system in NEOM.
Air taxi and vertical logistics services will be fully integrated with the overall multi-modal and zero-emission public transit system in NEOM.
The venture will be the sole operator of initial public transit routes across NEOM, while enabling an open eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) ecosystem for vertical mobility services, including logistics, emergency response and tourism.
NEOM has placed a confirmed order of 15 Volocopter aircraft to commence initial flight operations within the next two to three years.
“"In designing cities and urban infrastructure for the 21st century, mobility is at the center of the equation,” said CEO of NEOM Nadhmi al-Nasr.
“Through this joint venture with Volocopter, we are demonstrating to the world that NEOM is the ideal region to implement urban air mobility rapidly and create a fully integrated vertical mobility ecosystem.”
“NEOM is on a mission to become a global living lab for future mobility, and we are very excited to see what the future holds as we grow,” he added.
Volocopter “is a perfect match for our ambitious goals to create the first truly sustainable, shared and seamlessly integrated mobility system in the world,” said Florian Lennert, the head of mobility at NEOM.
Chief Commercial Officer at Volocopter Christian Bauer said the partnership with NEOM and the new venture that both sides are creating together is going to be an exciting journey.
"It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be an essential part of designing and operating a completely new UAM ecosystem from the ground up without the constraint of legacy infrastructure or regulation, and as pioneers in the industry, Volocopter is honored to be the trusted partner to contribute to NEOM’s ambitious vision," he added.
