Hydrogen cell flying cars

The Urban Aeronautics company in Javne is developing flying cars that will be able to dominate the air like Uber. Ambulances will be the first to use miracle cars called CityHawk, Israel21C reports.

Dozens of startup companies around the world are now developing so-called VTOLs (vertical takeoff and landing), cars flying in Hungarian. One of them is located in Javne, Israel, where a company called Urban Aeronautics is preparing to manufacture facilities called CityHawk.

The Israeli company model stands out from its competitors in two ways.

One is that the CityHawk has no wings or external rotors. The company spent a decade and a half producing an internal propeller system called Fancraft. The advantage of this is that passengers and passers-by are safer, and the built-in propeller takes up less space.

The size of the CityHawk will also be the size of a larger city SUV, meaning you can land on the sidewalk in front of your home or workplace. And on top of an office building, up to four CityHawks can land, unlike a standard-sized helicopter, of which only one is a maximum. CEO Rafi Joeli founded Urban Aeronautics in 2001, originally with the intention of developing an internal rotor helicopter. In 2013, they got to the point where the technology worked.

The first prototype, called Cormorant, took off in 2015. Urban Aeronautics has two divisions. Tactical Robotics develops unmanned aerial vehicles that can be used in defense, agriculture, cargo transportation, and power grid maintenance. And Metro Skyways is working on flying facilities like CityHawk. The Cormorant can carry a load of about 630 kilograms, and the CityHawk can accommodate five passengers next to the pilot.

According to Joeli, ambulances may be the first to use CityHawk.

“With a small physical footprint, CityHawk is able to land anywhere in a critical situation,” the CEO explained. “For example, you can transport the doctor directly to the patient or rescue the patient. Helicopters these days are often forced to land a mile away, and ambulances run across the street, wasting a lot of time. ” Joeli said.

Urban Aeronautics, by the way, signed an agreement with HyPoint Silicon Valley in June to use the hydrogen fuel cell technology they developed at CityHawk. As previously reported by Neokohn, Boeing has also entered into an agreement with the startup to develop a so-called controlled rotor drive technology.

Hydrogen is also more environmentally friendly and economical, as it can travel three times as much with the same amount of fuel as it would with gasoline. CityHawk will then be able to do 160 kilometers without refueling at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour, depending on the load. Joeli says the developers of the other flying cars make a mistake when, like Tesla, they use lithium-based electric batteries.

“A one-kilogram battery is worth 5 percent of hydrogen fuel cells, plus it’s not one hundred percent more sustainable than hydrogen. Modern electric cars can be fitted with an electric motor even if the fuel is hydrogen. The Honda Clarity and Toyota Mirai are good examples of this, but the same will be true for CityHawk, which is actually an eVTOL, or electric flying car, ”says Joeli.

In addition, hydrogen can be recharged in minutes, not hours. The hydrogen tank is also lighter. When it comes to flying, every kilogram counts. The biggest question, of course, is when will it be possible to fly with Uber in the air? And the answer to that is towards the end of the decade.

“CityHawk is still under design and construction,” admits Joeli, who says 2028 or 2030 is a realistic date for commissioning, but as the CEO said, it’s not driven by the Tartars, and moreover, it can only take years to get licensed.

According to Joeli, there will hardly be unmanned taxis in the air anyway. “If a person drives on the road, if there is anything, he stops the car after he stops aside. However, this cannot be done in the air, ”said the company manager.