Akihabara News (Tokyo) — Germany-based Volocopter has been tapped to become the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s first eVTOL partner in its ambitious Tokyo Bay eSG Project.
The Tokyo Bay eSG Project envisions the creation of a sustainable city that fuses nature and convenience along the capital city’s waterfront area, attempting to utilize cutting-edge and futuristic technologies.
Volocopter, which is developing the VoloCity multicopter, has been included among the first group of private partners in the project, according to an announcement last week from the metropolitan government.
Responding to an inquiry from Akihabara News, the senior spokeswoman for Volocopter’s operations in Japan clarified that the project is still at an initial stage.
Volocopter’s current responsibility is to begin compiling a feasibility study on urban air mobility and drone flights within Tokyo. While the project is not yet fully confirmed beyond next March, it is expected to culminate around March 2025 with the first eVTOL test flights in Tokyo.
In terms of the drone side of the project, the plan is to make use of the VoloDrone vehicle.
KDDI SmartDrone has also been selected by the metropolitan government to explore possible sea-air drone projects in Tokyo Bay.
Volocopter was also a recent recipient of a financial grant from the Osaka Prefectural Government to hold an exhibition aimed at increasing public acceptance of the eVTOL industry.
One of the German firm’s closest collaborators in the country is Japan Airlines (JAL), one of the two largest air travel companies in Japan.
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