EV aerial racing ready for take-off

Flying EV racing looks set to get off the ground with manned testing due to start in South Australia this year and racing later in 2020.

This follows the raising of seven-figure seed funding from the likes of Saltwater Capital and Jelix Ventures, announced by Adelaide-based performance electric flying car company Alauda and its racing series Airspeeder.

Other investors include Equals Group and DHL.

Airspeeder is the first motorsports series for electric flying cars and Alauda hopes it will set the pace for aerial e-mobility, much in the same way the ABB FIA Formula E electric car racing is doing for EV transport.

An unmanned prototype Airspeeder was demonstrated at last year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in the United Kingdom.

Initially, manned testing was planned this year in the Mojave Desert in the US, but the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions stopped that with tests now scheduled for the South Australian desert.

Alauda founder Matt Pearson reckons the electrical vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) sector could potentially be worth nearly A$2.34 trillion within 20 years.

“Electric flying cars are a coming reality that will liberate our cities and answer the long-term mobility challenges,” Pearson says.

“This seed investment represents a significant leap forward in the next great mobility revolution.”

Jelix Ventures co-founder Andrea Gardiner says there is a clear global market for Airspeeder and Alauda, while Saltwater Ventures founder Len Findlay says aerial EV racing will increase the technology’s awareness.

Partnerships for powertrain development and sensory technology are expected to be announced by Alauda shortly.