Neom, the high-tech city development project in north-west Saudi Arabia, and urban air mobility (UAM) pioneer Volocopter have established a joint venture company that will design, implement and operate the world’s first bespoke public vertical mobility system in Neom.
According to the partners, air taxi and vertical logistics services will be fully integrated with the overall multi-modal and zero-emission public transit system in Neom, and the joint venture will initially be the sole operator of eVTOL public transit routes across the region.
Neom has placed an initial order with Volocopter for 10 VoloCity passenger eVTOLs and five VoloDrone logistics aircraft that will enable flight operations to commence within the next two to three years.
Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of Neom, explained: “In designing cities and urban infrastructure for the 21st century, mobility is at the centre of the equation. 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.”
Christian Bauer, chief commercial officer at Volocopter, commented: “The partnership with Neom and the new JV we 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 honoured to be the trusted partner to contribute to Neom’s ambitious vision.”
Nadhmi Al-Nasr (left), CEO of Neom, and Christian Bauer, chief commercial officer of Volocopter.
