Press Release: 15th Annual Electric Aircraft Symposium

CAFE Foundation and Vertical Flight Society Announce Impressive Program
For Next Week's 15th Annual Electric Aircraft Symposium

World’s longest-running electric flight conference 

Nearly 60 of the world’s leading electric aircraft developers and technology experts will be speaking at the CAFE Foundation’s 15th Annual Electric Aircraft Symposium (EAS), held online next week on July 20-22, 2021. Registration information and details are available at www.vtol.org/eas.

Battery-electric, hybrid-electric and hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered aircraft have the potential to significantly reduce air transportation costs, carbon emissions and community noise, and enable new aviation markets. The CAFE Foundation and Vertical Flight Society have been working to advance electric aviation for many years and have partnered again for this year’s EAS. 

“The electric-powered aircraft industry continues to attract unprecedented investment despite the COVID-19 pandemic as the world embraces zero emission transportation during the economic recovery,” said Yolanka Wulff, Executive Director of the non-profit Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation. “In 2007, CAFE Foundation organized the world’s first Electric Aircraft Symposium to address emerging interest in electric propulsion, along with energy and climate issues. Next week’s symposium will provide a comprehensive industry update on all facets of this expanding industry.”

“The Vertical Flight Society joined forces with the CAFE Foundation in 2018 to co-host the Electric Aircraft Symposium because we recognized that the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) and electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) communities could benefit a lot from each other,” said Mike Hirschberg, VFS Executive Director. “VFS has been actively supporting what we call the Electric VTOL Revolution since 2014, with incredible advancements by our members over those years.”

VFS created the world’s first and foremost eVTOL website — www.eVTOL.news — in 2017, and has been the definitive resource for the eVTOL sector, cataloging each new concept as it is revealed — at a pace that greatly accelerated over the past 18 months, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The site’s World eVTOL Aircraft Directory now has dossiers on more than 480 eVTOL aircraft concepts — compared to 300 aircraft cataloged a year ago — representing more than 250 different designers and innovators. 

More than two-dozen companies are now flying full-scale all-electric passenger and cargo eVTOL aircraft, with the leading companies garnering $4.5B in investments in just the first half of 2021. In addition, several of the world’s largest airlines and logistics companies placed conditional orders and options totaling more than 1,200 aircraft. In addition, the US Air Force’s Agility Prime initiatives has invested in the development of several leading eVTOL developers plus and more than 250 small businesses and academic institutions that are part of the eVTOL ecosystem. 

This year’s EAS will present 18 panel discussions covering the full spectrum of topics including global developments, electric aircraft configurations, propulsion systems, community integration, market segments, testing and certification, as well as emerging regional markets. The symposium’s website is electricaircraftsymposium.org.

The nearly 60 experts are from a dozen countries, representing AeroTEC, Airflow.aero, Ampaire, BACE, Beta Technologies, Black & Veatch, Bye Aerospace, CAE, Community Air Mobility Initiative (CAMI), e-Flight Journal/Flying Pages, Electra.aero, Electro Aero, Electric Power Systems (EPS), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Flying Ship, General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), Georgia Tech, Happy Takeoff, Harbour Air, HMMH, Hyundai Air Mobility, International Vehicle Research, Jump Aero, Lindbergh Foundation, National Aeronautic Association (NAA), NEXA Advisors, Pipistrel, REGENT, Regional Airline Association (RAA), Rolls-Royce, Sabrewing, SAMAD Aerospace, Skyports, Sustainable Aviation Project, Swanson Aviation, Tier One Engineering, University of California Berkeley, US Air Force’s Agility Prime, Volocopter, VerdeGo Aero, Universal Hydrogen, VoltAero, Vertical Flight Society, Wisk, and Xwing.

Day 1 (July 20) features an Overview of Global Electric Aircraft Developments and in-depth sessions on Regional Air Mobility (RAM); Conversions and Supplemental Type Certifications (STC), Electric Aircraft for Public Services and Defense, and Community Integration, and will include presentations by aircraft manufacturers, Tier 1 suppliers, academics, consultants, industry organizations and the US Air Force. 

Day 2 (July 21) focuses on Advanced Air Mobility Competitions, Integrating Hydrogen as a Propulsion Source, Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Business Cases, Coastal Community Use Cases, Regional eCTOL/eSTOL, and Electric Aircraft Certification.

Day 3 (July 22) covers Workforce & Diversity, Electric Motors & Systems, Batteries, Vertiports & General Aviation Airports, Cargo, and the Pilot Pipeline.

The 36-year old CAFE Foundation hosted the first electric aircraft symposium in North America in 2007. In 2011, the Foundation managed NASA’s Green Flight Challenge, which was funded by Google. This US$1.35M prize was awarded to Pipistrel USA for its winning four-seat, electric-powered aircraft, the Taurus G4, which flew nearly 200 miles (322 km) non-stop, while achieving 403.5 passenger-MPG (171.5 passenger-km/l). Its astounding efficiency was more than twice that of the piston-powered aircraft in the competition. 

The Vertical Flight Society was founded in 1943 by the pioneers of the US helicopter industry to advocate for vertical flight and create a robust international technical community and today has more than 150 corporate and 6,500 individual members. VFS hosted the world’s first electric VTOL technical meeting in 2014, launched the world’s first eVTOL eNewsletter in 2016 and eVTOL website in 2017, and the world’s first eVTOL short course in 2018. VFS is the leader of advocacy for vertical flight.