Hitachi Energy and Eve Air Mobility have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly develop the electrical infrastructure needed to support large-scale urban air mobility (UAM), including grid integration, high-power charging and energy storage systems for vertiports.
The collaboration is intended to help prepare the infrastructure required for commercial electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) operations, which Eve Air Mobility plans to begin in 2028.
Developing Vertiport Energy Infrastructure
Under the agreement, the two companies will assess the electrical requirements of vertiports, including grid capacity, power availability and fast-charging systems capable of supporting frequent aircraft turnaround.
Hitachi Energy will contribute its Grid-eMotion charging platform, which the company said has already been deployed in multiple applications and will be evaluated for eVTOL charging requirements.
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The partners will also study the potential reuse of retired aircraft batteries as stationary energy storage systems to support charging infrastructure and improve energy management at vertiports.
In addition, the collaboration includes joint business planning and customer engagement aimed at supporting the global rollout of urban air mobility infrastructure.
Supporting Commercial eVTOL Operations
Eve Air Mobility, backed by Embraer, is developing battery-electric aircraft and related services for urban air mobility and is targeting aircraft certification and commercial operations beginning in 2028.
Johann Bordais, chief executive officer of Eve Air Mobility, said collaboration across multiple industries will be important as urban air mobility moves toward commercial deployment.
“Building a successful urban air mobility ecosystem requires collaboration across industries. As the sector moves toward commercial operations, it is increasingly important to understand how charging infrastructure, grid connectivity and vertiport energy requirements will be integrated into existing networks.”
Marco Berardi, head of Grid & Power Quality Solutions and Service at Hitachi Energy, said expanding electrification will require partnerships across the energy sector.
“We firmly believe that no single company or country can make the energy transition happen on its own, so we are thrilled to collaborate with Eve to jointly accelerate the decarbonisation of urban air mobility.”
According to Eve Air Mobility, the company has letters of intent covering approximately 2,700 eVTOL aircraft from customers worldwide.
Hitachi Energy said it is investing more than $9 billion in research and development, manufacturing capacity, engineering and strategic partnerships to support increasing global demand for electrification and grid modernization.
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