2023
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan “Future Society Showcase Project Exhibition”：
Operators Selected for the “Smart Mobility Expo” “Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)”
Feb. 21, 2023
Marubeni Corporation
Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, “Marubeni”) has been selected as an operator of eVTOLs for the “Smart Mobility Expo” “Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)” as part of the “Future Society Showcase Project Exhibition” at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.
Image of the Vertical Aerospace’s eVTOL aircraft “VX4”
MYAKU-MYAKU riding an eVTOL
The eVTOL aircraft “VX4 (range: over 160 km)” manufactured by Vertical Aerospace Group Ltd. (hereinafter, “Vertical”) will operate between two ports connecting the ports inside and outside the venue of the Expo.
Marubeni and Vertical have been carrying out market research together for the purpose of commercializing eVTOL aircraft in Japan since September 2021. Also, Marubeni made a cash commitment to reserve early delivery slots for the first 25 VX4 and conducted a monitoring tour for “Future Flying Cars Travel Experiences by Helicopter”*1 to launch a commercial passenger service in 2025.
Marubeni will utilize its know-how cultivated through its network in the aviation industry and diversified business activities to create a society where air travel is more accessible and convenient, while simultaneously contributing to climate change mitigation measures, including low-carbon and decarbonization initiatives.
About Future Society Showcase Projects:
This is a general term to refer to a group of projects that provide experiences to a wide range of participants and visitors from Japan and abroad by utilizing technologies and services that support the theme of the Expo, “Designing Future Society for Our Lives” for the development, operation, exhibition, and events of the Expo site which will be a “People’s Living Lab,” in the form of a “demonstration” that gives a sense of the future after 2025 and “implementation” that is suitable for the Expo.
| About Vertical: | ||
| Company Name: | Vertical Aerospace Group Ltd. | |
| Business: | Development, manufacture, and sales of eVTOL aircraft partnering with top-tier partners from the aviation industry. | |
| Established: | 2016 | |
| History: | December 2021: | Listed on the New York Stock Exchange as a SPAC*2 |
| September 2022: | Started piloted flight tests | |
| 2025: | Plans to obtain a type certification*3 | |
| Pre-order: | More than 1,400 | |
| Founder & CEO: | Stephen Fitzpatrick | |
| Location: | England, United Kingdom | |
| Website: | https://vertical-aerospace.com | |
*1 Click here for the related press release.
*2 SPAC: Special Purpose Acquisition Company
*3 Type certification: The approval of the design of an aircraft and all of its component parts which testifies that the type of aircraft meets the safety requirements set.