Electric aviation startup AeroVolt has initiated its first electric aircraft charging station infrastructure at regional airports and aerodromes across the UK.
According to the startup, this is the first stage of a larger plan to build the country’s first specialised aircraft charging network.
Founded in December 2022 with fewer than ten employees, the startup is demonstrating significant milestones across the industry with the rollout of the first six charging stations.
The first six airfields to benefit from the electric charging units include Sandown, Bournemouth, Lydd, Lee-on-Solent, Shoreham and Kittyhawk.
AeroVolt plans to expand into the automotive business in the future, since its aircraft charging devices are capable of powering electric vehicles.
Philip Kingsley-Dobson, founder and developer of AeroVolt told Airport Technology how the company intends to expand in future.
Dobson said: “We have car chargers coming at airports too, automotive charging is coming further down the line, although our focus is on the airside charging, commercialising our product and building relationships with the aerodromes”.
This announcement follows the company’s debut at the Royal International Air Tattoo 2023, which they noted as a “great success for AeroVolt”.
“This is an exciting development in the aviation sector,” said AeroVolt in a statement.
“Never before has a pilot been able to fly electric from one destination to another, charge the aircraft and return using a publicly operated, permanently installed smart charger.”
Some of the upcoming airports and aerodromes featuring this charging technology include Manchester Barton Aerodrome, Perranporth Airfield and Fairway Common Airfield.
The aircraft startup has also introduced Squadron, its ‘fully feature’ management system for electric aircraft and eVTOLs, which includes charging scheduling, manual and automated flight logging and aircraft operations.
