The ways in which we move people and goods are being transformed in many different ways with innovations to create greener and more autonomous mobility offerings and supplement ground transportation with air mobility. Here we look at some key developments.

1. ARE HYDROGE-POWERE, AUTONOMOUS
FLYING TAXIS THE FUTURE?

2. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
ARE HYDROGE-POWERE, AUTONOMOUS FLYING
TAXIS THE FUTURE?
The ways in which we move people and goods are being transformed in
many different ways with innovations to create greener and more
autonomous mobility offerings and supplement ground transportation with
air mobility. Here we look at some key developments.

3. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Of all the topics I have written about recently, autonomous flying taxis seem like the most far-fetched –
or should I say pie-in-the-sky! However, the fact is that around 20 companies – from well-known names
like Airbus and Hyundai, to new, inventor-led startups are racing to bring such vehicles onto the market.
This is hardly surprising when the value of the air taxi market – which includes the class of vehicles
known as eVTOL (electric vertical take-off/landing) - is expected to grow by $50 billion over the next
five years.
Now, when we are talking about topics as high-tech and apparently futuristic as flying cars (which is
what, for all intents and purposes, an eVTOL vehicle is), there’s a lot of excitement and hype. After all,
the companies behind these vehicles are looking to become the Ford or General Motors of the 21st
century. This means their marketing departments are often working on overdrive in order to catch the
attention of buyers, investors, and venture capitalists who, at the end of the day, have a big say in which
projects will soar and which ones will stall.

4. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
The first trial flights involving an autonomous air taxi service began in 2017 in New Zealand,
when Wisk – a company backed by Boeing and the Kitty Hawk Corporation - began undertaking
unmanned test flights. Later that same year, Dubai’s crown prince Sheikh Hamdan Bin
Mohammed became one of the first human passengers, when he was transported 200 meters in
a vehicle built by German manufacturer Volocopter, funded by Daimler.
Proponents of eVTOL say they have the potential to hugely reduce carbon emissions by reducing
the amount of pollution caused by cars and other vehicles such as delivery trucks forced to travel
on congested urban streets. They are also being touted as a game-changer for emergency
service vehicles, which will be able to reach accident sites far more efficiently and economically
than existing aerial emergency transports such as helicopters.

5. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
One company, in particular, is aiming to push the envelope even further when it comes to
environmental benefits. Alaka’i Technologies, based in Massachusetts, USA, has unveiled the world’s
first eVTOL taxi craft designed to run entirely on hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen is the most abundant
substance in the universe and has the added advantage that water is the only by-product created when
it is used as fuel. In a demonstration taking place in London, the company showed how its vehicle could
effectively operate in urban environments using entirely "green" hydrogen energy generated from
renewable sources.
Brian Morrison, co-founder of Alaka’i and inventor of the Skai vehicle, told me during a recent
conversation, “Hydrogen has been used domestically here in the states for fifty or sixty years in various
manufacturing processes – sometimes it’s created through a reforming process where they start from
methane – that’s not desirable because it produces carbon as a by-product.”

6. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
The journey to create Skai began back in 2012 when Morrison started conceptualizing the vehicle, and in
2017 the business started looking for funding, with investors coming on board in 2018. Currently, the
vehicle is undergoing certification with the Federal Aviation Authority. It is designed to carry up to four
passengers along with (initially at least) a pilot. However, it is also planned that it will be able to be flown
either from a control center on the ground or, eventually, fully autonomously.
Morrison tells me, "Right now, today, we could fly autonomously – the software exists – but from a
certification standpoint, we’re certifying it first with a pilot on board and for ground pilot operations.”
This will mean a quicker pathway to putting the vehicle into operational use, with initial use cases likely
to include both cargo flights and air ambulance services.

7. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Getting certified for fully autonomous flight is likely to take significantly longer – Morrison
estimates they could be looking at up to four or five years into the future for this to happen.
Rather than the urban journeys that are seen as the most likely initial use cases, these first
autonomous journeys might involve carrying supplies to offshore oil rigs or island-based holiday
resorts. For these types of use cases, FAA certification is sometimes possible on an “experimental”
basis - on the grounds that it will be a useful learning exercise for both the manufacturer and the
authority itself. Another accelerated path to production and deployment could be by having
emergency response organizations make orders for the vehicle. Organizations such as the
National Guard are authorized to fly aircraft that haven’t been FAA certified in certain situations,
such as search rescue and medevac.

8. © 2021 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Aside from the environmental advantages, Morrison says the hydrogen fuel system offers enormous
performance benefits over the battery technologies being developed for competing eVTOL vehicles.
Rather than the 15 or 20 minutes flight time that competitors are aiming for, it is hoped that Skai will be
capable of flying for several hours. It’s also capable of landing safely if any one of its six motors or
rotors fails. And as the ultimate emergency measure, it's also fitted with an airframe parachute, which
should allow it to float gently to the ground even if they all fail!
The eVTOL and air taxi vehicle market is highly competitive, but Morrison and Alaka’i are clearly helping
their innovative design will give them the edge over rival manufacturers with a great deal of experience
in aircraft design and some serious financial backing. At the end of the day, the winner is likely to be the
company that can persuade customers that their proposed solution is the one that offers the most
value. This will be the key to unlocking the sort of order volumes that, through the mechanics of
economies of scale, will make going into production a possibility.

9. © 2021 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker,
futurist, and a strategic business & technology advisor to governments and
companies. He helps organisations improve their business performance, use data
more intelligently, and understand the implications of new technologies such as
artificial intelligence, big data, blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is
a frequent contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for
Forbes. Every day Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers
and shares content that reaches millions of readers.

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www.bernardmarr.com