Lilium says it is on track to have the first of seven prototype eVTOL aircraft assembled and ready for flight testing by the end of 2024, with Aciturri preparing to deliver the first of the Lilium Jet's composite fuselages in the fourth quarter of this year. The aircraft will complete final assembly at Lilium's facility at Wessling, near Munich, as it works towards type certification by the end of 2026.

Joby Aviation has opted to mass-produce its electric air taxi in Dayton, Ohio—home of the Wright Brothers. The California-based eVTOL aircraft developer announced Monday that it will build its first scaled production facility at Dayton International Airport, where it intends to manufacture hundreds of aircraft per year together with its partner Toyota. 

Airbus sees ZeroAvia as a potential ally in its ZeroE project to develop hydrogen-powered airliners by the mid-2030s. With the backing of the European aerospace group, plus more funding from Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital and the Saudi government-backed Neom project, ZeroAvia aims to start bringing existing aircraft converted with its hydrogen fuel cell systems into commercial service by 2025.

Two years ahead of its target for bringing hydrogen-powered aircraft to market in 2025, Universal Hydrogen has filed its application for an FAA supplemental type certificate and has been granted the G-1 issue paper. The company will now be stepping up ground and flight testing that recently got underway to generate the data needed for the approval process.

Beta Technologies, a Vermont-based company developing electric aircraft along with a network of charging stations, is expanding its partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense to install an aircraft charger at Eglin Air Force Base in western Florida. Later this year, Beta will send its Alia aircraft to Eglin, where the Air Force will use it for “on-base experimentation” as part of its ongoing efforts to explore defense applications for electric aircraft such as Beta’s Alia.

The Seoul-based Solyu leasing group wants to be part of South Korea's drive to embrace advanced air mobility services and has provisionally agreed to buy up to 50 of SkyDrive's three-seat SD-05 eVTOL aircraft. The agreement builds on its decision earlier this month to purchase 25 of Eviation's Alice electric airplane.

Brazilian autonomous eVTOL aircraft developer Moya Aero has been selected to join the Techstars Los Angeles Accelerator program for seed-stage start-ups. Plus, EHang invests in solid-state battery specialist Shenzhen Inx; Safran and Cuberg team to develop energy storage systems for electric aircraft; Ryse releases video showing amphibious operations with its Recon ultralight eVTOL vehicle; and Estonia and Anra Technologies open an uncrewed air traffic management test center.

This week, Joby announced plans to mass-produce thousands of its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft in Dayton, Ohio, where it all started for the Wright Brothers. For now though, the California-based company is conducting early small-scale production at its Marina plant on the West Coast as it moves towards anticipated FAA type certification. The AIN video news team recently was allowed behind the hangar doors to see what it takes to prepare to manufacture a new type of aircraft that Joby and others say will transform air transportation economics.