By Michael J. Dyment. Managing Partner of NEXA Capital Partners
Aviation has always been captivated by new or novel aircraft developments. Revolutionary designs, electric propulsion systems, speed, noise and performance attract headlines, investors, and public imagination. Runways, terminals, navigation systems, and other infrastructure rarely generate the same excitement.
Yet the next breakthrough in advanced air mobility (AAM) may come not from an aircraft manufacturer, but from Congress.
That is why NEXA Capital Partners is launching the National AAM Infrastructure Finance Coalition, an industry-wide initiative to build support for congressional legislation establishing a federal loan-guarantee program to help finance an estimated $16.6 billion in AAM infrastructure CAPEX investment.
The Coalition will unite AAM aircraft manufacturers, operators, infrastructure developers, financial institutions, and other stakeholders behind a common objective: mobilizing private investment in the vertiports, charging facilities, low-altitude airspace systems, and supporting infrastructure essential to commercial AAM operations.
This will not be another industry discussion group. The Coalition intends to pursue a coordinated congressional advocacy campaign, engaging experienced Washington legal and lobbying professionals and developing legislative proposals. It will be introduced at a December 2 executive roundtable at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, where industry and government leaders will discuss the financing initiative and its legislative strategy.
The problem is straightforward: the AAM aircraft are coming, but the infrastructure needed for AAM to operate nationally has yet to appear.
AAM aircraft manufacturers already face enormous capital requirements for certification, production, and commercialization. They cannot reasonably be expected to finance extensive infrastructure networks as well.
Nor can the industry count entirely on Wall Street. Infrastructure investors need predictable revenues from established operations, while AAM operators need infrastructure before they can establish those operations and demonstrate financial viability.
So what will it cost to build the infrastructure needed to launch a national AAM network? And how can the industry finance it?
A USD16.6 Billion National Requirement
Over the past eight years, NEXA Capital and its subsidiary, UAM Geomatics, have developed AAM demand forecasts, infrastructure requirements, economic analyses, and business cases for aircraft manufacturers and government agencies in the United States and abroad.
Our analysis of 62 U.S. metropolitan areas, representing approximately 60 percent of the nation’s population, identifies a need for roughly 2,570 vertiports, supported by low-altitude surveillance, navigation, communications, and traffic management systems.
The estimated investment requirement is USD16.6 billion over approximately 20 years: USD11.5 billion for ground infrastructure and USD5.1 billion for airspace systems.
We believe a dedicated federal loan-guarantee program offers a practical way to finance these investments.
Under the proposed framework, private developers and lenders would finance qualifying projects, supported by federal guarantees covering a portion of eligible debt. Project sponsors would contribute equity, lenders would retain meaningful risk exposure, and loans would be repaid through infrastructure user fees and other qualifying revenues.
The objective is not to replace private investment with federal spending, but to make private investment possible.
By reducing financing risk, federal credit support could attract capital to projects that might otherwise struggle to obtain affordable long-term financing.
Our preliminary analysis indicates that the federal credit-subsidy requirement could cost the tax payer less than $500 million over a multiyear period, subject to formal federal scoring and program design. A relatively limited federal budgetary commitment could therefore potentially mobilize billions in private infrastructure investment.
From Industry Discussion to Congressional Action
But realizing this opportunity will require more than a sound financial model. It will require congressional authorization—and a coordinated industry effort to secure it.
The Coalition will focus on building congressional support for a federal credit program, working with relevant committees and coordinating industry advocacy around a common legislative framework.
State aviation officials and transportation agencies will be important participants. Many are already developing AAM strategies, identifying priority routes, and evaluating infrastructure investments, but lack a clear pathway to financing implementation.
The federal government need not select every vertiport location or dictate regional business models. States, local governments, operators, and private developers are better positioned to identify viable projects and market opportunities. Congress, however, can establish the financing framework that allows those projects to proceed.
Participating companies will be invited to make annual financial contributions supporting the legal, legislative, and professional lobbying efforts needed to advance the proposal. Government agencies, airports, universities, and industry associations will also be invited to contribute expertise and perspectives.
The Coalition is designed to serve the broader AAM industry, not any single manufacturer, developer, or region, by advancing financing for commercially viable infrastructure projects nationwide.
Achieving this objective will require the AAM industry to speak with a unified voice in Washington—and commit the resources necessary to be heard.
The Next Step for AAM
The technological achievements of advanced aircraft developers are substantial. But certification is not commercialization, and demonstration flights are not transportation networks.
AAM will ultimately be judged not by the number of prototypes flying at industry events, but by its ability to deliver reliable, affordable, and commercially sustainable transportation services.
That requires infrastructure, investment, and a financing framework capable of addressing the risks of an emerging industry.
The National AAM Infrastructure Finance Coalition intends to help make that framework a reality.
The AAM aircraft may be the most exciting part of advanced air mobility. But without the infrastructure, especially in dense urban environments where the market opportunity is largest, they have nowhere to go.
Michael J. Dyment is Managing Partner of NEXA Capital Partners, a financial and strategic advisory firm focused on advanced air mobility and aerospace infrastructure investment.