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Confirmed purchase of two VoloCity aircraft at the Paris Air Show for start of initial flight operations
Future Volocopter aircraft intended for operational use in emergency medical service missions
Munich/Bruchsal, 19 June 2023 – Today, ADAC Luftrettung and Volocopter entered a collaboration partnership to customize next-generation electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) for rescue services. Two milestone agreements were signed at the Paris Air Show: one to purchase two VoloCity aircraft, and another with the intention of securing 150 additional units of Volocopter’s eVTOLs as part of this collaboration. The two VoloCity aircraft will start research operations in late 2024 to provide ADAC Luftrettung’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) as supplementary aircraft in Germany. Upon successful completion of these first operations, the additional eVTOLs will be considered for use in future rescue missions.
Since 2018, nonprofit ADAC Luftrettung, and Volocopter, have been a part of a joint eVTOL feasibility study in EMS and rescue operations, 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. The study computer-simulated aeromedical missions in two regions in Germany, and theoretically proved that the introduction of eVTOLs in life-saving situations would add a significant tactical advantage, from a technical, sustainable, and operational standpoint. Today, the two companies announced they will take this partnership to the next level, with ADAC Luftrettung to purchase the two VoloCity aircraft it reserved in 2020, and have the intention of securing 150 additional units of eVTOLs specifically for its future EMS and rescue missions.
The two VoloCity aircraft are expected to go into research operations in Germany after receiving the type certificate from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in 2024. A pilot and an emergency physician will be dispatched to incident locations – to supplement, not to replace – rescue helicopters in order to provide rapid assistance from the air. After the successful completion of at least a two-year research operation in the German towns of Idar-Oberstein and Dinkelsbühl, and their immediate regions, ADAC Luftrettung may deploy next-generation Volocopter eVTOLs in its rescue service operations roster.
Compared to a rescue helicopter, Volocopter’s eVTOLs are quieter and produce zero emissions in flight, improving sustainability and reducing the company’s CO2 footprint, while saving lives. The ADAC Luftrettung feasibility study and the opportunities for rapid emergency care using eVTOLs have also been met with great interest by the Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris, as they have joined forces with Groupe ADP to explore the deployment of ADAC Luftrettung's concept for multicopter operations in EMS also in the Paris region.
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About ADAC Luftrettung GmbH
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 GmbH. 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.
About Volocopter
Volocopter brings urban air mobility (UAM) to megacities worldwide. We aim to improve the quality of life for people in cities by offering a fantastic new mode of transportation. For that, we create sustainable and scalable UAM ecosystems with partners in infrastructure and operations.
Volocopter’s family of eVTOL aircraft will offer passengers (VoloCity and VoloRegion) and goods (VoloDrone) swift, secure, and emission-free connections to their destinations, supported by VoloIQ, the UAM ecosystem’s software platform that serves as its digital backbone for safe and efficient operations.
As a pioneer in the UAM industry, Volocopter will launch commercial services within the next few years. Founded in 2011, the company employs more than 500 people in Germany and Singapore, has completed over 1,500 successful public and private test flights, and has diverse investors, including Geely, NEOM, Mercedes-Benz Group, Intel Capital, and BlackRock.. www.volocopter.com