The World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan is shaping up to become one of the first major occasions in which the public will be able to try out a variety of eVTOL aircraft in a real operational environment.
In addition to the announcement that Joby Aviation and ANA Holdings (the parent company of the Japanese airline of the same name) will operate a flying taxi service at the exhibition, the show organizers have published a list of advanced air mobility partners selected to showcase their aircraft at the Expo.
One such company is Volocopter (in which Japan Airlines is an investor and partner), a German urban mobility developer which is also preparing to fly its VoloCity at the Osaka Expo.
The company also announced on February 21, 2023, that the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) had accepted its application for Japanese certification of its VoloCity eVTOL model. The type certification process will be concurrent with that of EASA, the European regulator.
Adding to its links to Japan, Volocopter has also added Sumitomo Corporation as an investor to its Series E funding round.
Volocopter will only display a scale model of its VoloCity at the Grand Front shopping mall in Osaka, on March 8-12, 2023, in order to familiarise the Japanese public with the advanced air mobility concept.
But the list of eVTOLs present at this year’s event does not end there.
Vertical Aerospace has partnered with Tokyo-based Marubeni Corporation to bring its VX4 eVTOL to the show and Japanese advanced air mobility player SkyDrive will also have a presence at the Expo.
The vertiport is going to be operated by ORIX Corporation and will be part of the “Smart Mobility Expo” “Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)” within the “Future Society Showcase Project Exhibition” section of the Expo.