Seletar Aerospace Park, Singapore’s centrepiece for the aerospace sector has been identified as a future Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) hub with an enabling ecosystem for the industry. Today, JTC, the masterplanner for Seletar Aerospace Park, and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) announced the signing of two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with Skyports and Volocopter to explore ways the aerospace park can support the growth of the emerging AAM sector in Singapore.
The MOU with Skyports will draw on the vertiport developer’s experience of building take-off and landing infrastructure for air taxis, to explore ideas for the future development of Seletar Aerospace Park. This includes facilities like an air taxi vertiport terminal, airside facilities and hangarage, as well as facilities to support research and development (R&D) and pilot training.
Yun Yuan Tay, Head of Asia Pacific at Skyports, said: “Singapore is a trailblazer for future mobility in the Asia Pacific region and we are delighted to be working with Economic Development Board and JTC to explore all the elements required to create an advanced air mobility hub at Seletar Aerospace Park. Skyports has based its Singapore operations out of Seletar Aerospace Park and can already see the potential for the facility to be integrated into a future network of vertiports.”
The MOU with urban air mobility pioneer Volocopter will study the feasibility of developing facilities and resources in Seletar Aerospace Park to carry out manufacturing and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.
“This MOU signifies a concrete step towards our commercial rollout in Singapore. We’re grateful to our forward-looking partners – the Economic Development Board and JTC – for embarking on this journey with us,” said Christian Bauer, Chief Commercial Officer of Volocopter. “Having manufacturing and MRO facilities in Singapore, coupled with the collaboration between industry partners, government agencies, and regulators, will enhance Singapore’s position as a top aviation hub and a leader for AAM industry in the region.”
With the AAM industry set to take off amid accelerating technological breakthroughs, Singapore is pushing ahead to grow the industry locally. Over the past three years, Singapore has been facilitating aviation innovation for the AAM industry by supporting trials for autonomous drones and eVTOLs. In 2019, Skyports and Volocopter showcased the first full-scale passenger air taxi vertiport prototype in Singapore, with a view to creating a network of vertiports and an initial commercial air taxi service in the city state by 2024.
Tan Kong Hwee, Executive Vice President, EDB said: “Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is an emerging area that presents strong growth opportunities for Singapore. EDB is committed to ensuring that Singapore is well-positioned to capture these opportunities, through the creation of an enabling ecosystem in Seletar Aerospace Park that can support a wide range of activities such as manufacturing and R&D. We look forward to partnering with companies like Skyports and Volocopter to grow the AAM sector here, to create good business and job opportunities for Singapore and Singaporeans.”
Alvin Tan, JTC’s Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Industry Cluster Group said: “With its vibrant aerospace ecosystem and purpose-built infrastructure, Seletar Aerospace Park is well placed to attract the world’s top advanced air mobility players. We see potential synergies between the advanced air mobility players and the Park’s key players, and look forward to facilitating collaborations. The partnerships with Skyports and Volocopter mark a new chapter in Seletar Aerospace Park’s development journey and we welcome more industry partners to join us.”
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