Supernal, the newly renamed urban air mobility business unit of the Hyundai Motor Group, is aiming to bring the five-seat SA-1 eVTOL aircraft into commercial service during 2028. While advancing the vehicle's design to be ready to start the FAA type certification process in 2024, the Washington, D.C.-based company is also working with multiple stakeholders in the U.S. and other countries to develop infrastructure for urban air mobility services.

Norway's government intends to require domestic airline flights to be all-electric by 2040, and given the country's dispersed population centers and challenging geography, it needs alternatives to road and rail connections. Wideroe, which is already planning to operate Tecnam's P-Volt nine-seat, all-electric commuter, is now showing an interest in Embraer's plans for eVTOL air services.

A proposed process would combine Reaction Engines’ heat exchangers developed for its Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine with ammonia cracking catalyst systems developed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council. This would generate hydrogen to produce a fuel that could then be burned directly in turbine engines. The partners are aiming to support airliners flying up to around 1,250 miles with the new fuel to be stored in specially adapted wings.

In a bid to get a 100-seat regional airliner to market quickly, Wright Electric intends to convert legacy BAe 146 aircraft to electric propulsion and have them certified for commercial service in 2026. The 30-year-old design's four turbofans will be replaced by a quartet of two-MW electric motors, able to support flights of up to around one hour, providing a carbon-free alternative to existing narrowbody airliners on busy routes.

Manta Aircraft is now aiming to complete type certification of the two-seat ANN2 vehicle in 2024 and aims to be ready to start flight testing a full-scale prototype in the summer of 2022. Newly appointed partners will contribute to the development of the propulsion system, software for human-machine interfaces, and flight plan management, as well as design development and testing, plus anti-vibration and acoustic shielding systems.

Asset manager Rose Cay says it will acquire up to 250 aircraft for conversion to ZeroAvia’s hydrogen-electric powertrain, while ASL Aviation announced it will operate up to 10 of its ATR72 twin turboprop freighters powered by ZeroAvia’s ZA2000 hydrogen propulsion system beginning in 2026. The Irish carrier is giving ZeroAvia one of its retired aircraft to serve as a development platform for the two- to five-MW powertrain.

Dufour Aerospace says it has seen sufficient commercial interest in its Aero2 autonomous eVTOL vehicle to support a decision to certify what has been used as a technology demonstrator for the larger Aero3 model. The hybrid-electric Aero2 will have a payload of almost 90 pounds and a flight duration of up to three hours at a cruise speed of just over 100 mph. A prototype of the piloted Aero3 eVTOL model is expected to start flight testing in late 2022 as it heads for entry into service by early 2026.

The Butterfly eVTOL uses the Optimum Speed Propulsion rotor technology developed by Karem Aircraft, from which Overair was established. With support from South Korea's Hanwha Systems, the company has expanded its headquarters in Santa Ana, California, as it prepares the aircraft for service entry by 2026.

Lilium has released a new video showing flight testing of its fifth-generation eVTOL technology demonstrator. This shows a test flight conducted on October 25, which was made to gather data while the aircraft was climbing, turning, and descending at a speed of 40 knots (46 mph). The company's engineering team is using a data analytics platform provided by its partner Palantir to benefit from a more responsive and comprehensive feedback loop from flight testing.

The German company is working to certify its seven-seat Lilium Jet, which features a fixed wing with ducted fans, into commercial service in 2024. It says it is now expanding the flight envelope of the demonstrator as it works on the full-scale prototype.

Elroy Air's objective is developing a cargo-carrying aircraft called the Chaparral that will operate completely autonomously, including the loading and unloading of freight.