CFS: eVTOLs to provide sustainable cargo opportunities

LAS VEGAS — Drone operators are leveraging drone technology to create more sustainable options for express shipments, according to panelists during a session titled, “Thinking outside the cockpit: Integrating alternatives to today’s jet freighters in air cargo” at last week’s Cargo Facts Symposium 2021. With sustainability as a major goal, UPS looks toward electrification, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) devices, and autonomous technology to provide new, economically viable utilizations, Head of UAS Strategy, RDT&E and Acquisitions at UPS Flight Forward Jeff Luckett said during the panel. Currently, UPS is operating small drones in the health care space and is looking to expand its drone ops to include larger aircraft. [caption id="attachment_97420" align="alignright" width="511"] Panelists in the session on alternatives to freighter aircraft at Cargo Facts Symposium[/caption] “We’re looking at larger aircraft, including Beta Technologies' aircraft, that gives us new capabilities that haven’t existed before in the space, and eVTOLs give us an opportunity to take volume that arrives on a jet transferred onto an eVTOL, and go direct to our centers,” Luckett said. “As these aircraft become more autonomous, we plan to be able to utilize them in a heavier way.” In addition to economic viability, customer drivers for drone operations include societal benefits, CEO and President at Drone Delivery Canada Michael Zahra said. Besides urgent health care shipments, benefits also include projects “that we’re currently running for indigenous communities.” However, difficult regulatory environments have been one of the biggest challenges facing drone stakeholders, according to panelists. While drones are being developed to help connect rural areas and regions like Africa without extensive infrastructure, difficulties surrounding the regulatory process are hindering the implementation of the technology in some regions, making drone utilization contingent on where licenses can be obtained, Jan Kleine-Lasthues, COO of airfreight at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, said during the panel. Hellmann has partnered with Dronamics to begin middle-mile drone operations in Europe in 2022. “If you go in Africa, you have so many small countries — everyone has different regulations,” Kleine-Lasthues said. “That’s why we decided to start now within the EU … You can get [a license] much easier, and if you have a license in one EU country, it’s easier to get [licenses] from other EU countries. Maybe there are other geographical areas where it makes more sense to operate those flights, but forced by the regulations, we started in Europe.” In addition to the regulatory process, drone technology, current battery chemistry and access to pilots are considered additional setbacks, panelist Kyle Clark, founder and CEO at Beta Technologies , said. He further noted that these issues are slowly sorting themselves out and will eventually come together in the years to come. Although there has been some speculation about the total lifecycle cost of an electric aircraft or batteries, Clark noted that the industry is working on solutions to these challenges. For instance, Drone Delivery Canada is developing the next generation of its Sparrow drone, which will be equipped with better battery chemistry, Drone Delivery Canada’s Zahra said. While drones are gaining traction in the airfreight industry , there is still much to be done, and building regulatory approval, customer approval and a social license takes time, Matthew George, CEO at autonomous flight technology developer Merlin Labs , said. “While [the incremental approach] feels slower, it’s what’s starting to really build momentum now,” George said. “It’s really exciting because the innovations now and the choices that the industry is making will fundamentally define the way that airfreight looks for the next 100 years, and I think that’s really exciting to be a part of.”

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