Japan’s SkyDrive will test eVTOLs in Dubai: Japanese electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer SkyDrive signed an agreement with Canadian air mobility infrastructure developer Vports to test and develop eVTOLs at Vports’ flight testing site in Dubai, according to a company statement released last week.

The details: SkyDrive will use the 37k sq meter eVTOL air traffic corridor in Dubai to trial and enhance the SD-05 — a two-seater zero-emissions eVTOL — in line with its target to get some 1.5k all-electric flying cars off the ground by 2045. The eVTOL is set to be rolled out in 2025.

Background: Vports signed in December a 25-year lease agreement with the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority and the Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub to build a 37k square meter eVTOL flight testing site at an initial investment of USD 40 bn over the next three years. The center — which is expected to become operational in 2024 — is expected to generate some USD 7 bn in direct revenues over the lease’s lifecycle.

eVTOLs are drawing interest in the UAE: Abu Dhabi-based charter flight operator Falcon Aviation Services partnered with electric aircraft company Eve Holding in April 2022 to supply 35 flying taxis with deliveries expected to start in 2026. Chinese eVTOL manufacturer AutoFlight signed this month a partnership agreement with airfleet management firm Evfly that will see it roll out 10 of its AutoFlight Prosperity I aircrafts in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Arabian Business reported. The country also granted US logistics firm United Portal Services a temporary flight permit to conduct flight tests to trial its eVTOL fleet in the UAE, Gulf News reported this month.