PARDES HANNA, Israel - Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer AIR in Pardes Hanna, Israel announced it has teamed with Nidec Motor Corporation in St. Louis to develop the motor for the production model of AIR's two-seater eVTOL AIR ONE. The two companies will design and develop a motor specifically for mid-sized eVTOL aircraft for the advanced air mobility industry.
Nidec will work with AIR to develop an efficient motor customized to support single-charge journeys of up to 100 miles. Funded by the BIRD Energy program of the BIRD Foundation [Israel-U.S Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation] to support innovative joint clean energy U.S.-Israel collaborations, the resulting enhanced-efficiency motor will be incorporated into AIR ONE's continued flight testing and eventually into AIR's production practices.
"The motor represents the heart of any vehicle. It's thrilling to partner with Nidec, a pillar of market excellence, to advance the production of AIR ONE," said Rani Plaut, CEO and co-founder of AIR. "Not only does this partnership represent a major turning point for the AAM industry as a whole, but it also specifically paves the way to fulfilling AIR's mission and the dream of personal flight."
Related: AIR unveils AIR ONE eVTOL
"We're excited to merge Nidec's motor expertise and global manufacturing capabilities with AIR's revolutionary eVTOL to deliver advanced motor capabilities to the individual consumers who wish to fly," said Vincent Braley, CEO of Nidec Aerospace. "Nidec's uncompromising quality standards and technical capabilities have been trusted implicitly for decades throughout industries, and we're ecstatic to create an aerospace-centric motor, designed for safety, that AIR ONE customers know they'll be able to depend on."
AIR also announced its participation in the U.S. Air Force's AFWERX Agility Prime program last month to drive flight testing and additional eVTOL R&D efforts in the United States.
