Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer Archer Aviation has closed financing and development deals for its high-volume production facility in Covington, Georgia.
Archer said on October 11, 2023, Synovus Bank and Evans General Contractors, were chosen from a range of companies with expertise in high-volume manufacturing facilities in the southeast United States (US).
Work is already underway on the first phase of the 350,000 square feet Covington facility which aims to produce 650 ‘Midnight’ eVTOLs per year and is on target to be completed in 2024 ahead of the aircraft’s planned entry into service in 2025.
Phase two of the facility provides the capability to expand the operation to approximately 900,000 square feet to support long-term production targets of over 2,000 aircraft per year.
The new announcement secures at least $65 million in financing which represents a substantial majority of the cost of construction for the first phase of Archer’s eVTOL manufacturing facility.
Archer has already received incentives for the project from the state of Georgia and through its partnership with Stellantis.
“The ability to manufacture eVTOL aircraft at scale is critical to building a successful business in this industry and Archer continues to maintain a significant lead on this front. Today, we’re taking another major step forward on our manufacturing buildout by securing a design-build agreement and financing agreement for the world’s first, and largest by volume, eVTOL manufacturing facility,” Adam Goldstein, Archer’s founder and CEO said.
Goldstein added: “Consistent with our capital efficient strategy of getting to commercialization, we’ve achieved attractive terms on the project. These agreements, along with our already strong partnership with Stellantis, give us the flexibility to ramp up our capacity and become the leading scale manufacturer of eVTOL aircraft in the world.”
Midnight is designed to be capable of flying distances of up to 100 miles but optimized to conduct back-to-back flights of 20 miles, with 12 minutes of charge time in between.
Up to four passengers with luggage, plus a certified pilot, will be able to travel onboard Midnight, which is powered by six independent battery packs, each supporting a pair of electric engines.