Its been a tough year for air taxistartups.
The UKs Vertical Aerospace is running short of cash, while Germanys Lillium faces bankruptcy.
Targets for commercialisation keep getting extended.
Investors are hesitant to commit.
The reason for all the struggles is pretty simple.
For operators and passengers, the experience will be essentially the same.
Similar to what Tesla did for cars, but for planes.
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Think of this contract as a dress rehearsal for aircraft certification.
EASAs pre-program service was launched last year.
Vaeridion said that it is the first general aviation manufacturer to win a contract under the scheme.
Van Dartel and Sebastian Seemann both former Airbus and ZF engineers co-founded Vaeridion in 2021.
Their vision was to build an electric plane to replace jet-fueled aircraft on short-haul, regional flights.
Preliminary tests put the range of the microliner at about 500km, said the company.
The planes design was inspired by gliders, which have an aerodynamic shape to minimise drag and boost efficiency.
Vaeridion plans to fly its first prototype in 2027.
The company aims to make this first iteration fully conform to EASAs pop in certificate requirements.
This means it wont have tobuild a costly demonstrator plane as well.
Vaeridion plans to build the planes from scratch and sell them directly to customers.
The company also expects to generate ongoing revenue by periodically replacing the aircrafts batteries.
Story bySion Geschwindt
Sion is a freelance science and technology reporter, specialising in climate and energy.
