Event

Urban air mobility panels at World ATM Congress

Urban air mobility panels at WAC event

EUROCONTROL’s Munish Khurana moderated three panels on urban air mobility:

  • exploring various aspects from the growing demand for drones worldwide;
  • the need to integrate them into the smart;  and
  • sustainable mobility of the future and the financial aspects.
21 June 2022 - 10:15 - 10:45

State of UAM in USA and Europe

Demand for UAM appears to be generally growing for transportation of passengers and cargo. A variety of business models ...

Demand for UAM appears to be generally growing for transportation of passengers and cargo. A variety of business models appear to be emerging. Future projections show the increasing trend will continue. But is the UAM industry ready to meet the demand? Is the eco system ready to integrate many types of eVTOLs occupying the airspace? In this panel, we will discuss the difference in demand for UAM in the USA and Europe, and the challenges faced by the research organisations, regulators, ANSPs and the industry on both continents and beyond. We will explore similarities and differences in the approach taken in the USA and Europe. Finally, we will identify common areas of collaboration for stakeholders from both continents.

Speakers

Munish Khurana Moderator

Senior Manager Business Development
EUROCONTROL

Parimal Kopardekar

Director Aeronautics Research Institute
NASA

Rob Weaver

Regulation and Public Policy Global Lead
Eve Air Mobility

Tim Arel

Acting Chief Operating Officer
Air Traffic Organization (ATO), FAA

Maria Algar Ruiz

Programme Manager Drones
EASA

Miguel Villaplana

Head of UTM
Airbus

David Bachelor

Chief Strategy and International relations Office
SJU

22 June 2022 - 14:30 - 15:15

EU Drone Strategy 2.0: State of Play

The EU needs to ensure safe and efficient development of a drone ecosystem. In its Sustainable and Smart Mobility strategy ...

The EU needs to ensure safe and efficient development of a drone ecosystem. In its Sustainable and Smart Mobility strategy, the Commission announced its plan to adopt a Drone strategy 2.0 by the end of 2022 to develop drones into a sector for the smart and sustainable mobility of the future.

This initiative aims to enable drones to contribute, through digitalisation and automation, to a new offer of sustainable services and transport, while accounting for possible civil/military technological synergies. In this panel, we will discuss key elements that might be covered in the EU Drone Strategy 2.0, how these elements will support the drone services market, participation of cross-section of industry sectors involved to develop the strategy and the next steps.

Speakers

Munish Khurana Moderator

Senior Manager Business Development
EUROCONTROL

Nicolas Eertman

Aviation Safety, Policy Officer
DG MOVE, European Commission

Olivier Reichert

Director of Programme Innovation
Safran

Saskia Horsch

Global Head of Government Relations & Public Affairs
Lillium

Koen De Vos

Secretary General
GUTMA

23 June 2022 - 10:30 - 11: 25

Financing Sustainable UAM solutions

As the urban air mobility (UAM) industry evolves to satisfy needs of urban environments by transporting cargo and ...

As the urban air mobility (UAM) industry evolves to satisfy needs of urban environments by transporting cargo and passengers across cities or conducting inspections, surveillance or maintenance activities in crowded places, there is a need to focus on financing all components of the UAM eco-system to ensure sustainable delivery of solutions. Investment has been pouring into manufacturing of aircraft (eVTOLs) from private industry. However, the eco system of UAM requires other parts to be ready to enable eVTOL flights in urban environment. Little has been invested in establishing the physical and digital infrastructure required for UAM. Without the required infrastructure, eVTOLs cannot fly in a scalable and complex environment. The UAM eco system is as strong as its weakest link. In order to deliver services in a sustainable way in safety critical industries (medical, pharmaceutical, Oil and Gas, Maritime, etc.), it is vital that the right infrastructure is available for eVTOLs to fly in a UAM eco-system that is reliable, robust, efficient, safe and secure. In this panel, we want to discuss with a panel of experts on what it takes to attract public and private investment to bring sustainable UAM solutions to serve industries seeking drone services, key aspects for SMEs to consider to seek investment to fund their UAM projects, and learn lessons from ongoing project(s) that has successfully secured funding for UAM infrastructure.

Speaker

Munish Khurana Moderator

Senior Manager Business Development
EUROCONTROL

Khalid Naqib

Senior Investment Officer, Venture Debt
European Investment Bank

Ricardo Fernandez

Senior Partner
One to One Corporate Finance

Ricky Sandhu

Founder and Executive Chairman
Urban-Air Port Ltd

Fernando Castillo

CEO
Novaltia