Urban-Air Port secures investment from Hyundai’s air mobility business

Urban-Air Port has secured investment from Hyundai’s Supernal division to further the development of infrastructure to support air mobility services.

The company plans to develop 200 vertiport sites, which are expected to facilitate the mass adoption of air mobility vehicles such as cargo drones and air taxis, globally in the next five years.

Supernal, previously known as the Urban Air Mobility Division of Hyundai Motor Group, developing its own Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) and plans to launch its first commercial flight in 2028.

Both businesses share a vision of integrating air mobility into exiting transit networks, in order to create a “seamless passenger journey”.

Ricky Sandhu, founder and executive chairman of Urban-Air Port, said: “Cars need roads. Trains need rails. Planes need airports. eVTOLs need Urban-Air Ports. Despite the unparalleled potential of eVTOL aircraft to revolutionise mobility, the importance of the ground infrastructure that enables them is too often overlooked. With Supernal’s investment and expertise and connection to Hyundai Motor Group, we can supercharge the rollout of sustainable, intermodal and scalable ground infrastructure that will unleash the future of advanced air mobility globally.”

“We are assembling a group of aligned financial and corporate venture capital investors that will extend our leadership. I look forward to welcoming further investors into UAP.”

Urban-Air Port’s vertiport sites will provide the required infrastructure to help enable mass adoption of eVTOL aircraft. The world’s first fully operational hub for eVTOLs, Air-One, will open for public visitation in Coventry City Centre in April. The demonstration will show how air mobility can help unlock the potential of sustainable mobility and how the industry will work to help reduce congestion, cut air pollution and decarbonise transport.

Jaiwon Shin, chief executive officer of Supernal and president, Hyundai Motor Group, said: “At Supernal, we are on a mission to transform how people and society move, connect, and live; therefore, it is essential we not only develop electric air vehicles, but also help shape the broader advanced air mobility market from the ground up. We are pleased to continue working with Urban-Air Port and support its efforts to create ground infrastructure that works seamlessly with eVTOLs and integrates the advanced air mobility industry with existing modes of transportation.”