Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR), BETA Technologies (NYSE: BETA) and Macquarie Capital today announced America’s Consortium for Electric Skyways (ACES), a plan to electrify up to 250 air taxi sites across the United States. In the coming decade, the consortium will build the standardized charging foundation required to scale electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) commercial operations in and around major metropolitan areas, including airports and vertiports in California, Texas, Florida and New York.
BETA will supply its purpose-built charging hardware for each site, which is built on the Combined Charging Standard (CCS) that is endorsed by GAMA and adopted almost uniformly across the industry, allowing for interoperability across electric aircraft OEMs.
Archer Aviation will anchor the network with its plans to launch passenger VTOL air taxi operations in these cities, providing near-term operational certainty across key metro markets.
Macquarie Capital will provide strategic advice to the consortium, including helping to arrange the investment capital necessary to fund site acquisition and the subsequent development and construction of these facilities.
By building the charging infrastructure needed for commercial operations in the US, the network will directly support Archer and BETA’s participation as selected partners in the FAA's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) - bolstering the White House’s push to lead the world in commercializing this next generation of aviation technologies.
ACHR shares lost seven cents to $4.72, while those for BETA dipped 37 cents, or 2%, to $18.16.
