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Munich/Bruchsal, 15 December 2020 - Volocopter and ADAC Luftrettung announced today that ADAC Luftrettung has reserved two VoloCity electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. After publishing the results of the world’s first feasibility study about piloted multicopter use in rescue services, ADAC Luftrettung has invested in a reservation for two VoloCitys to prepare for operational tests in 2023. After two years of close collaboration, this is the next step for performing operational tests on multicopter use for emergency medical services.
"After the groundbreaking results of our feasibility study, we are expanding our technological lead with regards to integrating multicopters in rescue services. Volocopter is the only eVTOL on the market that is advanced enough to reliably plan a test program with for our purposes,” says Frédéric Bruder, Managing Director of the non-profit ADAC Luftrettung. “We are excited to have secured our right to receive amongst the first VoloCity multicopters upon receival of type certificate.”
By reserving two VoloCitys, ADAC Luftrettung positions itself to be the first to perform operational testing of eVTOLs as transport for emergency medical doctors worldwide. Volocopter, the pioneer of Urban Air Mobility, provides this new form of transport for emergency medical professionals in addition to building their own Urban Air Mobility services for cities.
“Our partnership with ADAC Luftrettung, Europe’s largest helicopter operator, clearly demonstrates the potential Volocopter multicopter technology brings across all areas of mobility – in this case as a new means to get medical help to more people, faster,” remarked Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter. “By reserving their first two VoloCitys, ADAC Luftrettung are making a clear statement of confidence about our readiness to deliver and in our multicopter technology.”
ADAC Luftrettung and Volocopter’s partnership began in 2018 when they announced a joint case study launch sponsored by the ADAC Foundation with the Institut für Notfallmedizin und Medizinmanagement (INM, Institute for Emergency Medicine and Medical Management) at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich to computer-simulate aeromedical missions in two regions in Germany. After simulating more than 26,000 emergency operations with multicopters for the Ansbach rescue service area with the air rescue bases in Dinkelsbühl, Bavaria and in Idar-Oberstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, the full study was published in October 2020.
The results clearly showed that air rescue with piloted multicopters is possible, makes sense, and improves emergency care. In the next two years, ADAC Luftrettung and Volocopter will conduct flight tests together on a special airfield to prepare for operational testing with the reserved VoloCity in 2023.
Volocopter is the world’s first and only eVTOL startup to have European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Design Organisation Approval (DOA) and plans to launch their air taxi services in the next two to three years.
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ADAC Luftrettung gGmbH
Operating more than 50 rescue helicopters out of 37 bases, the charitable ADAC air rescue service is one of the major HEMS organizations in Europe. The ADAC rescue helicopters are part of the German EMS system. If need be, they are requested by a rescue coordination center after a 112-emergency call and deployed to rescue injured or ill persons. “Racing against time and for life” is the motto of ADAC Luftrettung gGmbH. One rule applies especially in the case of serious injuries or illness: the faster the patients are taken to an adequate hospital for treatment or attended to by an emergency doctor on site, the better are their chances of survival or convalescence. Since 2017, the organization has operated under the umbrella of the charitable ADAC foundation.
Volocopter GmbH
Volocopter is building the world’s first sustainable and scalable urban air mobility business to bring affordable air taxi services to megacities worldwide. With the VoloCity, the company is developing the first fully electric “eVTOL” aircraft in certification to safely and quietly transport passengers within cities. Volocopter leads and cooperates with partners in infrastructure, operations, and air traffic management to build the ecosystem necessary to ‘Bring Urban Air Mobility to Life’.
In 2011, Volocopter performed the first-ever manned flight of a purely electric multicopter and has since showcased numerous public flights with its full-scale aircraft. The most notable have been the public test flights at Singapore’s Marina Bay in October 2019 and the world’s first autonomous eVTOL flight in Dubai 2017. Volocopter is also developing products for the logistics and precision agriculture space with their VoloDrone.
Founded in 2011 by Stephan Wolf and Alexander Zosel, Volocopter has 200 employees in offices in Bruchsal, Munich, and Singapore. The company is managed by CEO Florian Reuter, CTO Dr. Arnaud Coville, CFO Rene Griemens, and CCO Christian Bauer, and has raised a total of 122 million euro in equity. Volocopter‘s investors include Daimler, Geely, DB Schenker, Intel Capital, Team Europe, btov, Micron, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, TransLink Capital (Japan Airlines and Sompo Japan Insurance), MS&AD Ventures, and Manta Ray Ventures.