The Australian Government has awarded AUD250,000 to Skyportz Australia Pty Ltd to advance development of its patented elevated Aeroberm™ vertipad, designed to enable safe and scalable operations for electric air taxis in urban and regional environments.
“Skyportz has developed a world-first modular vertipad system that can be installed on rooftops, carparks, or bespoke structures to support the emerging Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry,” said Skyportz in a press release. “This project, supported under the Australian Government’s Industry Growth Program, will develop a minimum viable product to address three of the most significant infrastructure challenges facing the industry — downwash and outwash management, noise mitigation, and fire suppression.”
“This grant will help us take our patented vertipad technology from concept to prototype,” said Clem Newton-Brown OAM, CEO of Skyportz, speaking at the Singapore Airshow this week. “We’re focused on delivering a safe, affordable and deployable solution that will enable property owners and developers to future-proof their sites for the coming era of electric air taxis.”
The Aeroberm™ patent covers a modular, elevated landing platform that incorporates integrated air management channels, acoustic dampening, and a built-in fire suppression system. These innovations are designed to address the key operational and safety issues that will prevent eVTOL aircraft from operating in built environments.
The funds will be matched by Skyportz to create a AUD500,000 research and development pool to engage researchers, patent specialists and industrial designers to bring the product to the prototype phase.
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