Dutch Company Vroon Expands Livestock Fleet Despite Efforts to End Trade

Vroon highlights it acquired the vessel which is a modern livestock carrier (Vroon)

PUBLISHED JAN 25, 2024 8:02 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

The Dutch shipping company Vroon is reporting that it expanded its livestock carrier fleet with the acquisition of its thirteenth dedicated vessel. The company highlights its use of modern ships and the highest standards but the industry continues to face broad calls for an immediate end due to inhuman conditions.

Based in Singapore, the company’s Livestock Express division is promoted as the world’s largest provider of premium livestock tonnage. Unlike many of the operators that use old, converted, and often poorly suited and maintained vessels, Vroon highlights that it has a modern, purpose-built fleet of carriers. They report transporting as many as 750,000 head of livestock annually, including cattle, sheep, horses, and goats.

Activists in both New Zealand and Australia continue to push for the end to live export. They cite the long history of poor conditions and low safety records of the ships, which have led to seasonal bans and requirements such as having a licensed veterinarian and trained handlers aboard as well as required amounts of feed and medicine. Lobbyists for the industry and the ranchers cite the improvements pushing for an end to the restrictions. 

Vroon reports against this backdrop that it acquired a new ship, the Aurochs from Japan’s Tsuneishi Group. Renamed Friesian Express, the vessel departed Australia on January 23 with its AIS showing it was heading to Pakistan. The vessel was purpose-built in 2017 by Zhoushan Shipbuilding. It is registered in Portugal and 4,600 dwt with reports that it has a capacity for approximately 2,300 cattle.

They highlight that fewer than 20 purpose-built livestock vessels have entered the worldwide fleet throughout history, of which 13 were designed and built for Livestock Express. The new acquisition is the youngest vessel in the company’s fleet which also has three vessels built in the late 1990s. The others were mostly built as part of a fleet renewal between 2013 and 2016 with the company saying the new ships are better designed for a comfortable ride, cargo handling, and ventilation.

Management highlights the acquisition is part of a new effort to strengthen the company’s operations in its key sectors which also include offshore and tankers, after completing a financial restructuring last year. Critics however are surprised by the decision to expand the livestock operation as animal rights groups work passionately to end the trade. RSPCA Australia reported in September it had made significant progress receiving 44,000 signatures on a Parliamentary petition calling for a legislated end date to live sheep export. They reported that 78 percent of Australians supported phasing out the trade as long as there was support for the impacted farmers.

 

Report: White House Directs Review of LNG Terminal's GHG Footprint

The review could set new climate criteria for 17 proposed LNG export plants

Calcasieu Pass 2's layout (Venture Global LNG)

PUBLISHED JAN 25, 2024 6:34 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

sdThe Biden administration is rethinking its approach to LNG export terminal permitting in advance of the November election, officials have told the New York Times. 

The booming U.S. natural gas industry has fueled a wave of LNG export projects along the U.S. Gulf Coast, and America has become the number-one LNG exporter in the world. Plans for further expansion are vast: there are no less than 17 new facilities at some stage of the development pipeline. 

One of these future projects - Calcasieu Pass 2 - has been targeted by climate scientists and activists because of its overall greenhouse gas footprint, which they estimate would be about 20 times larger than that of the recently-approved Willow oil project in Alaska. 

According to a recent letter to the administration by 170 scientists, the 17 LNG export projects in the permitting pipeline would release a combined 3.9 billion tons of greenhouse gas per year, more than the entire GHG output of the European Union. The finding draws on calculations by Prof. Robert W. Howarth of Cornell University, who estimates that American LNG exports have a net GHG impact at least 25 percent higher than coal, depending on LNG carrier propulsion type. Shale gas production, liquefaction, shipping and regasification all emit methane and CO2 in varying amounts, and Howarth concludes that coal-fired power in Europe has lower net emissions than American LNG-fired power in Europe (on a well-to-grid basis). 

This is relevant to the Biden administration because its Energy Department has control over permitting for LNG exports to foreign countries, and gets to determine whether these exports are in the public interest. Climate activists are aware of this policy lever and have urged the White House to use it. One of them, a young social media influencer named Alex Haraus, has organized a petition campaign to get Biden to delay or cancel Calcasieu Pass 2 - or face consequences at the polls in November. 

Biden's advisors have engaged with Haraus - and, according to the Times, they have directed the Energy Department to more fully evaluate the project's GHG impact. This is expected to delay any possible approval until after the election; in the long run, it could potentially set new and less lenient GHG criteria for evaluating other projects in the pipeline.  

 

S. China Sea's Subsea Features Get New Chinese Names

China's nine-dash line surrounds most of the South China Sea, including the Spratly and Paracel Islands (China Ministry of Natural Resources)

PUBLISHED JAN 26, 2024 9:50 AM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

On Tuesday, China released the results of a new geological survey of the South China Sea, and claims to have named nearly 400 subsurface features throughout the water body. 

Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, including large swathes of its neighbors' exclusive economic zones. Its sweeping maritime claims were invalidated by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in 2016, but China has ignored the ruling. 

Yang Chupeng, an official with the Guangzhou branch of the China Geological Survey, told state media that the new survey results will "provide good services for our country's marine engineering construction." The survey data will facilitate the "development and protection" of "China's blue land," the agency said. 

The survey process found 36 new seabed features that were previously unmapped, according to state media. The study also gave state officials the opportunity to give new names to 384 seabed landforms around the South China Sea. 

The right to name seabed features is consistent with China's position on the South China Sea's ownership. Beijing has long claimed that it has “indisputable sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and the adjacent waters," including legal jurisdiction over the surface, seabed and subsurface mineral rights. 

The data also has military applications. Fine-scale subsea mapping is useful for submarine warfare, as seabed features must be carefully mapped to safely navigate a sub near the bottom. (Subs can and do collide with unmapped promontories.) Seabed features can also be used to conceal a sub from detection. 

The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies recently published a summary of evidence that China's research vessels serve military purposes, like the research vessels of other naval powers. CSIS asserts that of the 64 active Chinese research vessels, over 80 percent demonstrate suspect behavior or possess links suggesting involvement in Beijing’s geopolitical agenda.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Chinese Academy of Sciences both operate research vessels and have signed cooperation agreements with China's military. The China Geological Survey, which sponsored the large-scale mapping effort, is a division of the Ministry of Natural Resources. 

 

Beer Store expands Ontario alcohol delivery partnership with DoorDash

BNN Bloomberg

People line up in a parking lot for a long wait to return empties or buy beer at a Beer Store in downtown Toronto on April 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Colin Perkel

The Beer Store is expanding its delivery partnership with DoorDash Canada.

The Ontario alcohol retailer says its agreement with the San Francisco-based courier company will enable deliveries from hundreds of stores. 

The pair initially began making deliveries from 50 stores throughout December, but recently added about 230 more.

The Beer Store says couriers using DoorDash to ferry their products have their Smart Serve licences and must ensure deliveries are only made to customers 19 years and older.

These couriers cancel alcohol deliveries if the recipient fails to produce a valid ID, appears intoxicated or attempts to purchase for a minor.

The Beer Store is owned by Ontario brewers, but its hold on the market has been threatened in recent months by Premier Doug Ford, who announced in December that sales of beer, wine, cider and ready-to-drink cocktails will be allowed in convenience stores and all grocery stores in the province by 2026. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2024.

Businesses transitioning to electric fleets need to take careful consideration

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press

Some businesses in Canada are embarking on a journey to transition their vehicle fleets to meet zero-emissions goals, but experts say the road ahead isn't going to be easy.

The move to cleaner transport and delivery vehicles comes with its own set of challenges that might not always be apparent right off the bat, panellists at an event about electric fleet transitions at the Toronto Region Board of Trade said on Wednesday. 

"We have to take into consideration the charging time to bring a battery up to 80 or 100 per cent overnight," Crystal Rasa, who is leading Ikea Canada's EV fleet transition, said in an interview following the event. 

"What time can the vehicle be ready to be loaded and leave for deliveries? What time will the vehicle be back?"

The company started small with 10 trucks deployed in Montreal and Vancouver.

Since then, Ikea's electric delivery fleet has expanded 15 per cent in the past two years to include Toronto and Ottawa, with plans to be in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Halifax and Quebec City, Rasa said.

The company has set a goal of having its delivery fleet in major cities be 100 per cent zero-emission by 2025.

While she is confident switching to electric vehicles is the way to go, Rasa acknowledged it requires a shift in mindset and extra planning.

Details such as the most efficient delivery routes and battery life between charges need to be taken into consideration, she said.

The furniture retailer uses electric delivery vehicles of various sizes and has a dedicated team to optimize their efficiency and algorithm-based delivery routes. 

"There's a never-ending analysis of what is the optimal configuration between the vehicle size, the type of order our customers are choosing to purchase," Rasa said. "Seasonality (also) comes into effect (deciding) how much product can go on a truck."

Other roadblocks include obtaining electrification permits, choosing efficient chargers and adapting to the lower battery life of cold weather.

"It's those really small things that can creep up," Rasa said. "It's the stuff that's not flashy and not an Instagram moment … (but) tiny little pieces" that caught the team off-guard.

The switch to electric trucks for small-scale business owners can look somewhat different.

Moatassem Abdelwahed, owner of delivery service MYcourier and an attendee at the event, said he has been experimenting with electric trucks. For him, the vehicles work best for local deliveries but not for long distances. 

"Every hour counts," he said. 

If the vehicle runs out of battery power, the driver will have to charge it on company time, Abdelwahed explained in a phone interview. This, combined with winter conditions affecting battery longevity and a lack of public charging infrastructure can be limiting.

Abdelwahed said he can't fully give up gas-powered vehicles until charging infrastructure improves.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2024

 

U.K. suspends trade negotiations with Canada, as each accuse the other of not budging

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

The United Kingdom is hitting the brakes on trade talks with Canada after Ottawa decided to not extend two temporary measures put in place after Brexit.

London announced the pause in negotiations today, less than a month before the next round of talks towards a permanent trade deal was expected to take place.

A special quota for U.K. cheese imports, which offered the same low-tariff access to the Canadian market as the European Union has, expired at the end of last month. 

Canada has also decided not to extend country-of-origin rules set to expire at the end of March, which will likely drive up the price of U.K. goods such as luxury cars.

Trade Minister Mary Ng's office says the move stems from British "unwillingness" to offer something in return, such as budging on a dispute over Canadian meat.

Both countries insist they want a fair deal for each other's businesses, farmers and workers.

"We reserve the right to pause negotiations with any country if progress is not being made," reads a statement from the British government.

"We remain open to restarting talks with Canada in the future to build a stronger trading relationship that benefits businesses and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic."

Shanti Cosentino, a spokeswoman for Ng, said Canada is "disappointed" in the move.

"Their decision to continue to maintain market access barriers for our agriculture industry and unwillingness to reach a mutual agreement has only stalled negotiations," she said.

"The U.K. is a long-standing trading partner, and I am confident that we can negotiate an agreement that is (a) win-win for Canada and for the U.K." 

Canada's cattle sector has been lobbying against a deal with the U.K. over a long-standing dispute on hormone-treated beef and pork.

The U.K. has held back on importing meats treated with certain hormones that are widely used by Canadian ranchers, who argue the Brits' concern isn’t grounded in science.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2024.

• Clocked-out trade talks will curdle supply of British cheese on Canadian shelves
  
• Canadian meat industry urges MPs to reject U.K. membership in trade deal
• 
  

 

Some Netflix subscribers face price hike as no-ads basic plan ends in Canada

David Friend, The Canadian Pres

Netflix is putting the final stake in its cheapest, ad-free "basic" plan in Canada.

After announcing last year that it would no longer offer the $9.99 plan to new or returning subscribers, the streaming giant is phasing out the price level entirely for users who were grandfathered into the plan.

"Basic" subscribers will now need to choose whether to downgrade to a $5.99 plan that includes commercial interruptions — and most of the Netflix catalogue — or pay more for the no-ads plans that start at $16.49 per month.

Netflix told investors in its quarterly financial report on Tuesday that it will eliminate the basic plan first in Canada and the United Kingdom between April and the end of June.

The latest move comes as Netflix looks to push more subscribers to its ad-supported plans, which cost less but are more lucrative for the company since they sell ad space.

Most of the biggest streaming platforms have recently adopted a similar strategy. 

Amazon's Prime Video will begin showing commercials on its streaming service in Canada starting on Feb. 5. It will give subscribers an option to "opt-out" by paying more to remove the commercial breaks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2024.

Hockey Night on Netflix? What the Netflix-WWE deal says about the future of sports broadcasting


Pete Evans, BNN Bloomberg Jan 24, 2024

It is perhaps appropriate that Netflix’s latest deal to become the exclusive broadcast partner of pro wrestling has landed like a flying elbow off the top rope.

In a pact announced Tuesday, WWE owner TKO has sold the global rights to stream its three-hour Monday night program, Raw, to Netflix, for the next decade.

The deal kicks in a year from now, once the agreement with current rights holder NBCUniversal expires. And while the price tag – a reported US$5 billion over 10 years – is eye-opening, experts say it makes a certain amount of financial sense for both sides.

Under the previous deal, NBCUniversal’s owner Comcast was paying TKO roughly $285 million annually for the rights to broadcast the WWE’s flagship wrestling show across its various U.S. media properties. 

The new deal will see TKO rake in almost 50 per cent more for the domestic rights alone, but instead of scrambling for a bigger piece of the shrinking pie of cable TV viewers, Raw will now have a more captive audience of Netflix’s 75 million customers in North America, and almost 250 million globally.

“It allows us to gain even a greater global footprint,” WWE President Nick Khan told Bloomberg News in an interview Tuesday trumpeting the deal. “It was a good bet by us and we think a good bet by them.”

'Landmark deal'

While the deal comes with a big price tag for Netflix, it’s not hard to see the appeal from their perspective. 

For about twice the price of what the streamer reportedly paid for the last nine-episode season of Stranger Things, Netflix has bought itself a minimum of three hours new content, each and every week — not to mention numerous additional WWE specials, including SmackDown and NXT as well as once-a-year special live events like Wrestlemania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble.

“WWE is great sports entertainment with a huge, established and passionate fanbase, and we believe this long term partnership will be a big value add for our members,” the company said in its earnings release on Tuesday.

Experts are inclined to agree.

“It’s a landmark deal,” said Adam Seaborn, a sports media analyst and head of partnerships at Playmaker Capital, in an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Tuesday.

For one thing, it will help Netflix retain customers because it brings fresh new content every week, not just a dozen or two dozen episodes like a scripted comedy or drama series would.

“Fifty-two weeks of sports programming keeps you tied into their programming all year round,” Seaborn said. “It's going to reduce churn.”

It’s an added bonus that the core demographic for WWE are the group that advertisers covet most – “that young male demo that every advertiser is after,” Seaborn added.

Surprise agreement

With synergies like that, both sides have much to gain from the deal. But that’s not to say it was expected.

“I don’t think anybody really saw this coming,” said Geetha Ranganathan, a media analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, in an interview with BNNBloomberg.  

While Netflix has dipped its toe into live events in the past with things like a Chris Rock comedy special, a golf tournament and the upcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards, the move into pro wrestling is its biggest bet yet into the genre. 

“We’ve seen Netflix be really shy about about getting into the live arena, getting into sports programming in a big way,” Ranganathan said. “This is definitely a departure from their time tested strategy (but) they’re looking to scale their advertising business,” she said — and what better way to do that than to have live sports content that already draws two million viewers a week.

Streamers pivoting to sports

It’s also unlikely to be Netflix’s last foray into live sports. Streaming companies have spent exorbitant sums in recent years buying up rights to live sports that once belonged to cable giants.

Apple has spent heavily for the rights to Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball games, and in 2021, Amazon bought the exclusive rights to broadcast Thursday Night Football – for a cool $1.2 billion annually.

Just this month, NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock spent a reported $110 million to be broadcast home for the AFC Wild Card game. That’s an exorbitant sum for any single event, but Comcast says it was a huge success, garnering almost 28 million viewers, enough eyeballs to gobble up 30 per cent of all U.S. internet traffic at the time.

With numbers like that, sports fans can expect that trend to continue.

Conventional broadcasters “have the rights to a lot of these properties and as the sports rights market heats up with all these new bidders it means (they) have to shell out more and more,” Ranganathan said.

Seaborn thinks Netflix in particular has more sports ambitions beyond wrestling. The NBA recently implemented an in-season tournament that seems tailor-made for a streaming partner to broadcast it, and “Netflix is definitely in the conversation for that,” he said.

He also thinks hockey isn’t out of the question.

In 2013, Rogers shook up Canada’s broadcasting landscape with a then-unprecedented deal to buy the exclusive national broadcasting rights for NHL games for C$5.2 billion over 12 years.

TSN and RDS, divisions of BNNB Bloomberg's parent company Bell Media, hold broadcast and streaming rights to multiple live sports events, including some NHL regional games as well as PGA Tour golf events and NFL games.

That Rogers deal is up for renewal in less than two years and Seaborn says he’d be “shocked” if the entire national rights went back to Sportsnet, which means the door is open to a streamer trying its hand at something game-changing: Hockey Night In Netflix?

“Someone like Netflix, someone like Amazon, someone like Apple, Roku, even players we haven't thought of yet are going to be in the mix for those rights,” he said.

BCE is the parent company of BNN Bloomberg through its Bell Media division.

 

25% of businesses missed CEBA deadline: Ottawa

Daniel Johnson , BNN Bloomberg

A quarter of small businesses with outstanding Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loans missed last week’s repayment deadline, according to the federal government. 

Small Business Minister Rechie Valdez and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland shared repayment estimates for the program during an announcement in Montreal on Monday.

Businesses had until Jan. 18 to repay the pandemic loans while receiving partial forgiveness. 

Valdez said government estimates indicate “about 75 per cent have been able to pay back” their outstanding CEBA loans. She did not say what percentage of businesses repaid CEBA loans with their own money and how many did so through refinancing agreements.

“Thank you to all the small businesses who did the right thing to keep Canadians safe and then continued to remain resilient and persevere through some very challenging times,” Valdez said during the announcement. 

The loan program was introduced in 2020 to help businesses affected by restrictions introduced by governments to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The deadline had been pushed back multiple times to the final date of Jan. 18.

Businesses that missed the deadline saw debts converted to three-year loans with interest of five per cent each ear. However, businesses that set up refinancing agreements with financial institutions will have until the end of March to repay their outstanding debt and have up to a third of the loan forgiven. 

Businesses borrowed money to repay: CFIB

Dan Kelly, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), said the government’s repayment figures do not reflect the fact that “a huge number of those that repaid their CEBA loans did so by borrowing the money.” 

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Kelly cited previous estimates from the CFIB that indicated one-third of CEBA loan holders would have to borrow money by taking a bank loan, borrowing against their home or using a line of credit in order to meet the deadline. 

“While government got its money back, the debt burden to many small businesses didn’t suddenly go away – it just moved from the left pocket to the right one,” Kelly said in Tuesday the social media post. 

Kelly said CFIB was “pleased” for businesses that were able to meet the deadline. He noted a recent CFIB survey showed that 22 per cent thought they would be unable to meet the deadline.

“I don’t think government should interpret this as a sign that all is well for Canadian small businesses,” Kelly said. 

“The 25 per cent that missed the deadline represents 225,000 small firms – a staggering number unable to come up with $40,000 almost four years after the pandemic started.”

 Last week, economists at Desjardins published a report predicting repayments related to the program would weigh on real GDP and employment in Canada, though they expected the overall economic impact would be minimal.

Their report said over half of businesses in Canada received loans under the program. Nearly 900,000 loans were approved and about 575,000 received extensions, with about $49.9 billion in funding sent out in total

Vancouver approves high-density Jericho Lands project criticized by residents

The Canadian Press

Vancouver's city council has approved a high-density development concept for a 36-hectare site on the city's west side, involving13,000 new homes.

The Council says the Jericho Lands Policy Statement sets the direction for development of the land owned by a joint venture that includes three First Nations.

It says the project unfolding over 25 to 30 years will potentially house 24,000 residents and include 8 hectares of parks and 4 hectares of public space.

The land is owned by the Canada Lands Company and MST Nations — Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh.

The council voted to advance the proposal after two hours of public comments at a meeting Wednesday, according to posts by the Vancouver City Clerk on social media.

The project had been opposed by some residents, including the group Jericho Coalition that says the plan fails to deliver "livable density" and will create "Metrotown by the sea" in reference to British Columbia's largest shopping mall.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2024.

Vertical Aerospace Founder Commits $50 Million to Get Air Taxis Flying

CEO and majority owner Stephen Fitzpatrick is putting his own money into the firm, which is expected to give it cash on hand through mid-2025.

By Jack Daleo

January 23, 2024

A Vertical Aerospace VX4 air taxi prototype, registered as G-EVTL, suffered a crash during testing in August. [Courtesy: Vertical Aerospace]

An air taxi founder is putting his money where his mouth is.

Stephen Fitzpatrick—founder, CEO, and majority owner of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft manufacturer Vertical Aerospace—on Monday committed to invest $50 million into the company, which risked running out of cash by September per its own projection.

The funding, which will support the development and planned 2028 certification of Vertical’s flagship VX4 air taxi, extends the firm’s cash runway into mid-2025, it said.

“The company has achieved significant technical progress, both in its prototype program and its certification plans in 2023, that I believe is not reflected in our share price,” Fitzpatrick said. “Given the success I have seen in the past 12 months, I am more confident than ever in our world class team, and I am delighted to further support the company with additional funding.”

Vertical’s stock (NYSE: EVTL) dipped dramatically in 2023 amid delays to its certification timeline and the crash of its Aircraft One prototype in August—so much so that the New York Stock Exchange has threatened to delist it if shares continue to trade below $1.

The manufacturer has also struggled to attract investors, reportedly missing a target to raise funding by December. Its previous raise of $205 million closed more than two years ago. Like other air taxi manufacturers, Vertical does not yet produce revenue, so investment is required to finance its operations: Net cash used in operating activities in 2023 totaled about $95 million.

Fitzpatrick’s investment is structured in two tranches. An initial $25 million investment—priced at $10 per share of common stock—is expected to close in March. The Vertical CEO will supply a further $25 million by the end of July, but only if the company is unable to raise that amount in alternative equity funding. Whatever it is unable to scrounge up, Fitzpatrick will supplant.

Vertical said it is engaged in discussions for further funding pending the completed flight test campaign of its second VX4 prototype. The company’s first prototype was the one that tumbled 30 feet onto the runway at Cotswold Airport (EGBP) in the U.K. in August, damaging its right wing and landing gear. Vertical later said the crash resulted from a wiring issue that caused a high-voltage short circuit.

The manufacturer’s second-generation prototype, Aircraft Two, promises to address the problem. The piloted full-scale prototype is nearing completion at partner GKN Aerospace’s Global Technology Center in the U.K.

The updated model will have more features aligned with the design Vertical hopes to certify with the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It adds a new propeller, second-generation powertrain, battery packs designed to meet thermal runaway safety requirements, and refined flight control system. Aircraft Two will also feature components made by Vertical certification partners Honeywell, GKN, Hanwha, Solvey, and Leonardo.

The upcoming prototype will complete a flight test campaign and several public demonstrations this year. These will include an appearance at the Farnborough International Airshow at Farnborough Airport (EGLF) in July, as well as flights to and from London Heathrow Airport (EGLL).

The demonstrations will put Vertical in position to refine and finalize the VX4 design, the company said. After that, the aircraft will need to pass final regulatory testing before being approved for production.

“I look forward to both our demonstrations and the completion of additional funding rounds to deliver on the promise the VX4 has to offer our customers and their passengers,” said Mike Flewitt, chairman of Vertical. “We are on track to deliver a transformative U.K. developed electric aircraft to our customers across the globe.”

In March, Vertical received design organization approval (DOA) from the CAA, a necessary step in the regulator’s type certification process. Only a handful of eVTOL air taxi firms, including Volocopter and Lilium, have obtained DOA. Vertical also said after the VX4 prototype crash that its timeline for CAA certification activities remained unaffected.

Once certification is obtained, Vertical has a large backlog of customers to serve. As of October, it had received preorders for 1,500 aircraft from dozens of customers worldwide. The company estimates its order backlog comprises $5 billion in value once fully realized.

NASA, Archer Battery Testing Partnership Aims to Assert U.S. Air Taxi Leadership

Archer said the initial focus on battery cell safety is part of a ‘much larger partnership’ between it and the space agency.

By Jack Daleo

January 22, 2024

NASA will study and test battery cell systems designed for Archer Aviation’s Midnight electric air taxi. [Courtesy: Archer Aviation]


The technology expected to power the next generation of commercial aircraft could have some more cosmic applications, according to NASA.

The space agency on Monday announced a new collaboration with electric aircraft manufacturer Archer Aviation to explore how the company’s battery cell systems—designed for its flagship Midnight air taxi—could one day be applied for space.

A core focus of the collaboration, the partners said, is ensuring U.S. leadership in the next generation of air transportation. It follows air taxi simulations NASA conducted with Archer competitor Joby Aviation, and both come in the wake of the world’s first electric air taxi flight for a paying customer, completed by China’s EHang in December. EHang has also begun deliveries to its operational partners.

The industry leadership of Archer, Joby, and other American air taxi manufacturers is being challenged by Chinese firms, such as EHang and AutoFlight, as well as European rivals such as Volocopter. U.S. lawmakers and government agencies fear those companies could undermine American firms by beating them to commercial launch and scale.

“Many countries around the world are challenging the U.S. in this new era of flight, and our country is at risk of losing its global leadership position unless we work together, government and industry, to ensure we seize the moment and pioneer this new era of aviation technology, which stands to benefit all Americans,” said Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer.

The initial NASA project will study and test Archer’s battery packs to see how they can safely support advanced air mobility (AAM) operations. The goal is to validate the technology for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis like Midnight, electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) designs such as Beta Technologies’ CX300, and potentially even usage in space.

According to Archer, the initial focus on battery cell safety is part of a “much larger partnership” with NASA under a Space Act Agreement for the advancement of “mission-critical” eVTOL aircraft technology.

The company believes the maturation of battery cell technology, in particular, will be key to U.S. mass production and adoption of eVTOL air taxis and other AAM services. Following testing, it plans to share the results with the industry to help it develop more efficient battery system supply chains.

“AAM promises to provide substantial public benefits to our communities, including transforming how urban and rural communities live and commute by maximizing mobility, bolstering cargo and logistics options, and creating pathways to manufacturing jobs and other ladders of social and economic opportunity,” Archer said in a news release. “Core to unlocking this potential is designing, developing, and mass producing batteries and electric motors that are purpose built for electric aircraft.”

Archer’s battery packs are designed specifically to power Midnight’s proprietary electric powertrain, which the company is beginning to mass manufacture. It said the cell’s cylindrical form factor “has a track record of safety, performance and scalability proven through decades of volume manufacturing, deployed across many applications globally, including in millions of electric vehicles.”

NASA will test the battery system’s safety, energy, and power performance capabilities using the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), one of the world’s most advanced high speed X-ray facilities. It will seek to understand how the cells function in “extreme abuse cases,” perhaps as a way to simulate the harsh environment of space.

NASA—which in addition to Archer and Joby is collaborating with the U.S. Air Force and other partners on an array of AAM initiatives—is one of many government agencies aiming to assert U.S. leadership in emerging aviation.

AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Air Force, is working with Archer, Joby, and plenty of other manufacturers in a series of “quid-pro-quo” arrangements. The manufacturers receive access to Air Force resources and feedback that can speed aircraft development, testing, and commercialization, and the Air Force gets to explore defense use cases for technology not yet on the market. AFWERX is also collaborating with the FAA to share flight test data and capabilities.

The FAA has been tasked with spearheading the growth of the domestic AAM industry. So far, the agency has released an AAM Concept of Operations, which will serve as the early blueprint for regulations and operational rules to enable scale. The first stage of that blueprint is detailed further in the regulator’s Innovate28 plan—a timeline of goals and milestones culminating in initial AAM operations by the time the 2028 Summer Olympics arrive in Los Angeles.

However, the U.S. may be four years behind its global competition: Germany’s Volocopter, China’s AutoFlight, and several other non-U.S. manufacturers plan to demonstrate or commercially launch their air taxis at the Paris Olympic Games this summer.

Both Archer and Joby anticipate entry into service in 2025, pending type certification of their respective aircraft. But though they may arrive on the scene after their foreign counterparts, the opportunity to lead remains. Later entrants will be able to evaluate the successes (or failures) of the initial wave of aircraft. Through collaborations such as the one between Archer and NASA, they’ll have more time to research safe, scaled operations.