Who is Volocopter, the company behind the flying taxis arriving in Paris during the 2024 Olympics ?

© Volocopter

This Tuesday, July 9, the French government gave the green light for the test of the VoloCity electric aircraft in Paris. This is a crucial step for Volocopter, the company that designed it.

A start-up led by experienced executives in the aviation sector

Founded in Germany in 2011, the start-up is now 'today directed by Dirk Hoke. This experienced executive started at Renault before spending 20 years at Siemens. Most recently, he was CEO of Airbus Defense and Space. Volocopter develops electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. These aircraft are designed to provide sustainable, emission-free transportation solutions for urban areas.

«  Our vision is to offer people an additional mobility option, without traffic jams and without emissions ,” specifies the CEO. The company has a team of top executives to support Hoke in his mission. Its technology director, Sebastian Mores, is one of the prime contractors for Airbus' first eVTOL concept. Andreas Fehring, director of operations, spent many years with the European manufacturer, allowing him to acquire robust experience in different areas of aviation.

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Volocopter’s ambitions are generating interest. Several industrial giants have invested in the start-up, such as Intel, Mercedes-Benz and the Chinese automobile giant Geely. In addition to its benefits for the environment, Volocopter assures that its solutions could also prove useful for the transport of goods, medicines, or even for carrying out infrastructure surveillance operations.

< h2>900 flights in Paris until December 31, 2024

The company employs more than 500 people and has six offices around the world, including Germany and Singapore. It has carried out more than 2,000 test flights to demonstrate the safety and reliability of its aircraft, it assures on its website. In Paris, its VoloCity flying taxi, first unveiled in 2019, will be deployed.

A decree, contested by Paris City Hall, paves the way for the installation of a vertiport Quai d’Austerlitz. These infrastructures are specially designed for the vertical takeoff and landing of VoloCity. Four others of them are located in Île-de-France, in Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, in Le Bourget, in Issy-les-Moulineaux and in Saint-Cyr-l’Ecole.

900 flights are authorized until December 31, 2024 in conjunction with the Olympic Games, although use of the Quai d'Austerlitz vertiport is only permitted between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at a rate of two movements per hour. For Volocopter, it will be a question of testing VoloCity in real conditions. The device, which will connect the different vertiports, will only be able to carry one passenger per trip in addition to the pilot.

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