Welcome Address: A Defining Year for Advanced Air Mobility

Nicolas Zart, Founder, Electric Air Mobility/Vertiport Infrastructure, LLC.

Commercial pilots-to-service, sharper FAA/EASA guidance, better batteries & thermal strategies, and tighter links with airports/vertiports are reshaping AAM. Cut through the noise to what actually moved in 2025—and what it means for NA programs in 2026.

• 2025 milestones that change certification, ops, and investment.

• Current technical/regulatory blockers and near-term remedies.

• Where OEMs, Tier-1s, and airports are placing 2026 bets.

• High-value collaboration lanes (OEM–airport–city–utility).

• Concrete actions to de-risk manufacturing and route launch.

eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP): Fast-Tracking U.S. Leadership in Electric Air Taxis

TBA (Federal/State Program Lead + OEM/City Partner)

The eIPP links OEMs, regulators, airports/vertiports, utilities, and cities to stand up real-world eVTOL pilots—creating rulebooks, ops playbooks, and community models that compress time-to-market.

• How eIPP pilots shorten certification/ops timelines.

• Roles for OEMs, suppliers, regulators, and municipalities.

• Path to approval: Bridging prototype tests to commercial ops pre–full TC.

• Pilot structure, evaluation criteria, and timelines.

• Community engagement, noise KPIs, transparency.

• Turning pilot artifacts into national standards and SOPs.

From Vision to Vertiports: Accelerating Commercial Readiness at Scale

Eric Allison, Chief Product Officer, Joby Aviation

With certification pathways firming up and public-private coalitions forming, the question is speed: how quickly can safe, reliable eVTOL services be woven into airspace, cities, and daily life? This session distills what it takes to move from flight tests to scalable operations.

• Close out certification: Coordinate final findings with multi-region regulators.

• Sync with infrastructure: Align aircraft needs to vertiport, ATC/UTM, and grid timelines.

• Evolve the model: Government/defense/commercial partnerships that unlock routes.

• Build at rate: Localized supply chains, factory automation, and QA at scale.

• Win public trust: Live demos, transparent noise/ENV data, and community playbooks.

• Operationalize: Airline-style simulations → schedule reliability & turnaround SOPs.

• Measure what matters: KPIs for safety, on-time performance, cost, and customer experience.

Airspace 3.0: Operationalizing Advanced Air Mobility in a Digitally Managed Sky

TBA (FAA/ANSP Digital Integration Lead + Industry Partner)

As low-altitude traffic scales, the NAS shifts from analog procedures to digital traffic services where pilots, AI, and algorithms share the sky. This session turns policy and pilots into an executable framework for corridors, flight rules, automation thresholds, and cross-domain ops.

• Transition steps from legacy ATC to corridor-based, service-oriented airspace.

• Tech baselines for DAA, conformance monitoring, contingencies.

• Playbook for eVTOL–UAS–conventional coexistence in CTR/Class G.

• Tie thermal/SoC profiles to routing and separation in dense ops.

• Bake environmental/noise constraints into route and procedure design.

• Lessons from FAA corridors, UTM pilots, international trials → artifacts you can reuse.

• Data, APIs, performance requirements, and governance for “airspace as a service.”

From Prototype to Production: Scaling Archer’s Midnight for Commercial and Defense Operations

TBA, Archer Aviation (Midnight Program / Industrialization & Ops)

Archer is moving from certification readiness to real operations—standing up production, aligning supply chains, and preparing for high-visibility deployments (e.g., LA 2028) while addressing defense use cases. This session distills what it takes to industrialize Midnight and operate across diverse environments and stakeholders..

• Understand the manufacturing and supply chain challenges in scaling eVTOL production.

• Explore how defense-sector requirements influence design, certification, and operational strategies.
  Assess how environmental testing in diverse conditions (e.g., desert heat, urban density) informs certification and commercialization.

• Gain insight into how early deployment models, such as Olympic air taxi services, can shape broader eVTOL adoption.

Evaluate the balance of commercial and defense priorities in accelerating market entry.

Breaking the Limits: High-Energy-Density Battery Systems for Next-Gen eVTOL Performance

Range, payload, and turnaround live or die on the pack. This session turns high-energy designs into cert-grade, operable systems—balancing Wh/kg, C-rate, and safety with manufacturability and serviceability.

• Solid-state readiness: Feasibility/timelines; oxide vs sulfide; pack Wh/kg targets; DO-311A/abuse impact.

• Dense packs: Cell-to-pack, firebreaks; venting/gas management; fast fault isolation.
  Thermals: Plates vs immersion/hybrid; TIMs, vapor chambers; turnaround heat removal.
  Fast charge (no plating): SoC windows, pre-heat/cool, charge profiles, pad-power planning.

• Safety/propagation: Early TR detect, quench/contain, pressure/off-gas sensing; post-event safe state.

• Serviceability/swaps: Blind-mate HV/coolant, rapid BMS reprovisioning; line-replaceable modules.

Advanced Thermal Management Systems for High-Density eVTOL Platforms

Understand the unique thermal demands placed on eVTOL aircraft systems. With limited space, weight constraints, and strict safety margins, manufacturers must develop compact, efficient, and certifiable thermal systems that can handle high transient loads and ensure reliability in the urban air environment. We will address the holistic integration of thermal design across battery packs, motors, inverters, and cabin environments, with a focus on innovation in materials, architectures, and control systems.

• Know the loads: Map mission-phase heat for packs, drives, avionics, cabin.

• Pick the architecture: Shared vs independent loops—weight, redundancy, cert trade-offs.

• Cooling methods: When to use dielectric/immersion, two-phase, PCM, or plate cooling.

• Hardware details: Mini heat exchangers, pump/fan sizing, TIMs, motor/inverter housings.
  Battery safety: TR detection/containment, vent paths, gas management, safe-state logic.

• Controls that matter: Pre-heat/cool, charge-window management, fault/derate strategies.

• Model → reality: 1D networks + targeted CFD; correlate with rig/chamber/flight data.

• Certification hooks: Redundancy, fault tolerance, material/FST compliance, DO-160 temps.

• Maintainability: Quick-connects, fluid management, leak detection, on-pad service steps.

Urban Whisper: Aeroacoustic Modeling and Noise Optimization

Distributed electric propulsion near buildings changes the rules. This session turns state-of-the-art CAA + community noise tools into quiet designs, routes, and vertiport decisions that pass scrutiny and win public trust.

• Know the source: DEP tonal/roughness traits—why legacy models miss urban eVTOL.
  

• Model right: LES/VLES → CAA (FW-H) and far-field propagation in city canyons.
  

• Design levers: Rotor config/RPM, tip-speed caps, approach angles, and clocking.
  

• Map communities: 3D exposure grids with building scatter/reflections & directivity.
  

• Quiet procedures: Flightpath shaping for approach/transition; vertiport siting rules.
  

• Validate & iterate: Tunnel/pad arrays → model correlation; KPI set (SEL, tonality).
  

• Communicate impact: Clear visuals & thresholds to support permitting and outreach.

Engineering Espresso Break

Hosted By

Multiscale Battery Simulation for eVTOL Design, Safety & Performance

Roberto Licata, Aerospace & Defense Industry Solution Experience Director, Dassault Systèmes

From chemistry to full aircraft, multiscale simulation is now central to hitting eVTOL targets for power density, thermal control, safety, life, and certification. This session shows how to link material, cell, module, and pack models into aircraft-level simulations that de-risk design and shorten test programs.

• Unify the physics: Couple electrical–chemical–thermal–mechanical battery models.
  

• Scale the model: Material/cell → module/pack → aircraft-level energy & heat flows.
  

• Predict aging & safety: SOC/SOH drift, degradation, TR onset/containment.
  

• Thermal design: Evaluate cooling concepts and turnaround heat removal in mission profiles.
  

• Virtual validation: Use DoE/MBSE to cut rigs/tests and generate cert-ready evidence.
  

• Digital thread: Integrate battery models with aircraft sims (performance, dispatch, HIL).
  

• KPIs to target: Wh/kg, C-rate, temps, life accrual, reliability margins—by mission.

Sensor-Driven Structures & Smart Components: Enabling High-Performance, Electrified eVTOL Systems

Adrian Serna, Business Development Specialist, AdvanTech International

Lightweight airframes now double as sensing platforms. This session shows how mechanical joining, thermal hardware, and embedded sensors come together to deliver precise control, reliability, and cert-ready performance for electric flight.

• Join to perform: How forming/joining choices (fasteners, Al bolts, inserts) affect stiffness, fatigue, and battery integration.
  

• Cool at the interface: Role of terminal pins, busbars, cooling plates/TIMs in pack-level thermal/electrical performance.
  

• Sense & control: Sensors for position/torque, motor control, IMU/INS, and nav feeding propulsion & autonomy.
  

• Structure as a sensor: Strain/FBG/vibration routes for SHM and condition-based maintenance.
  

• EMC-aware hardware: Grounding, shielding, and connector layout that keep signals clean.
  

• Integrate disciplines: Mechanical + electrical co-design for weight, reliability, and cert evidence.
  

• Design for service: LRU access, blind-mate power/coolant, and diagnostics for fast turnarounds.
  

• Prove it: Component-to-system test flow and data needed for certification.

Advancing HIL & SIL Validation for eVTOL: From Tip to Battery to Tail

Peter Blume, President, Bloomy

SIL/HIL turn design intent into cert-grade evidence—before flight. This session shows how modular, scalable benches validate propulsion, BMS, flight controls, and avionics under real-time scenarios, faults, and environmental edge cases to cut risk, cost, and schedule.

• Why now: Use SIL/HIL to de-risk certification and compress test cycles.
  

• Architect the rigs: Modular benches that model full-aircraft behavior (FCC, BMS, drives, avionics).
  

• Fault with purpose: Structured fault injection (shorts, sensor drift, timing, OEI) with coverage metrics.
  

• Autonomy & energy: Validate autonomous logic and energy management under realistic missions.
  

• Automate evidence: Trace requirements → tests → reports; configuration control for repeatability.
  

• Integrate & scale: Tie benches into MBSE/PLM, reuse for regression, end-of-line, and in-service incident replay.
  

• Cert alignment: Build test artefacts regulators accept—DO-178C/254, SC-VTOL safety cases.

Beyond Lithium-Ion: Unlocking eVTOL Range with Lithium-Sulfur Crystal Batteries

Dr. Ulrich Ehmes, CEO, Theion

Theion’s crystal-structured lithium-sulfur (Li-S) concept targets step-change Wh/kg (claimed up to ~3× vs conventional Li-ion) with cobalt/nickel-free cathodes—promising lighter packs, lower cost, and new mission envelopes for eVTOL.

• Electrochem basics: How crystal Li-S cathodes and solid-state design drive energy density.
  

• Thermal & safety: Heat generation, TR risk profile, and high-power behavior for VTOL phases.
  

• Performance over life: Degradation modes, recharge efficiency, cycle/ calendar life for aviation duty.
  

• eVTOL fit: Pack-level implications—weight savings, C-rate, redundancy, and turnaround.
  

• Sustainability edge: No Co/Ni bill of materials; carbon footprint considerations.
  

• Certification hooks: Evidence needs vs DO-311A/DO-160, abuse tests, containment & venting.
  

• Path to market: Pilot programs, manufacturing scale-up, and operator trial frameworks.
  

• What to watch: Readiness indicators—cell specs, pack demos, and independent validation.

Scaling Cobalt-Iron Lamination Stacks for High-Performance eVTOL Propulsion

Niklas Volbers, Director of Advanced Research, VAC Magnetics

Cobalt-Iron (CoFe) cores enable higher magnetic induction, unlocking 20–30% torque/power density gains for compact eVTOL motors. This session turns material advantage into repeatable production: segmented aero-grade stacks, precision insulation, and QC that scales.

• Why CoFe: Magnetic/mechanical advantages → higher torque density, cooler operation.
  

• Stack design: Segmented laminations for efficiency, NVH, and compact architectures.
  

• Make it repeatable: Precision stamping/laser, burr control, interlock/bonding, insulation systems.
  

• Prove the properties: Inline QC—B-H curves, core loss, coating integrity, dimensional Cp/Cpk.
  

• Thermal & NVH ties: Eddy-loss mitigation, ventilation paths, and acoustic damping.
  

• Integration: CoFe with SiC drives and high-slot-fill windings for system gains.
  

• Scale-up playbook: Vertical integration, supplier qual, and R&D loops for aero-grade yield.

Advanced Composites for eVTOL: Engineering Lightweight, Resilient Structures for Next-Gen Flight

Composites carry the eVTOL business case—mass, stiffness, crashworthiness, and rate. This session turns material choices (thermosets, thermoplastics, fiber systems) into cert-ready designs for propulsion housings, crash-resistant battery enclosures, and cabins.

• Hit the weight targets: Translate range/performance goals into laminate & core specs.
  

• Pick the right resin: Thermoset vs thermoplastic for strength, cycle time, and repair.
  

• Battery safety first: Fire-/heat-resistant enclosures, vent paths, and containment.
  

• Propulsion structures: Motor/inverter housings—thermal interfaces, EMI shielding, NVH.
  

• Lightning & corrosion: LSP meshes/foils/veils, grounding, and barrier schemes.
  

• Joints that last: Co-cure, secondary bond, hybrid bolt/bond with NDI at thin gauge.
  

• Manufacture at rate: AFP/ATL, RTM, press-formed TP, in-mold sensing, SPC.
  

• Cert evidence: Coupons → elements → sub-components → articles; repair substantiation.
  

• Sustainability & REACH: Recyclable TP routes, LCA metrics, and compliant chemistries.

Lunch Networking Break

The New MRO Paradigm for eVTOL Commercialization

eVTOL fleets change everything: HV propulsion, dense electronics, thin-gauge composites, and software-heavy systems require modular design, data-driven maintenance, and new skills. This session turns that into a scalable aftermarket playbook.

• Design for uptime: Modular LRUs, access, standard tools—minutes, not hours.
  

• Electric propulsion care: Motors/inverters/PDU diagnostics and safe-power SOPs.
  

• Battery lifecycle: Health diagnostics, event analysis, swap/repair rules, second-life.
  

• Composite repairs: Thin-gauge NDI, scarf/patch standards, cure control at the line.
  

• Predict & prevent: AI/IoT + digital twins for CBM and reliability dashboards.
  

• Records & config: Tail-number baselines, software/BMS traceability, eLogbooks.
  

• Training & approvals: New cert paths, licensing, and safety culture for HV & autonomy.
  

• Supply & spares: Rotables, kitting, AOG recovery, and vendor SLAs that scale.

Flight-Cycle Demands on Battery Performance: Advanced Materials & Testing for eVTOL Propulsion

Ilias Belharouak, Head of Electrification Section, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

eVTOL aircraft place unprecedented demands on battery systems—especially during high-power phases like vertical takeoff, hover, and rapid descent. Attendees will explore how advanced materials, novel electrolytes, and real-world flight simulations are reshaping lithium-ion battery design for electric aviation. Key insights will include how extreme power draw affects thermal behavior, structural integrity, and long-term battery health. 

• Understand how eVTOL flight profiles—including takeoff, hover, and cruise—affect battery power and thermal performance.
  

• Evaluate lithium-ion behavior under high-load, pulsed, and extreme conditions, and its implications for degradation and safety.
  

• Explore advanced in-situ testing methods for tracking chemical and mechanical changes in battery materials.
  

• Learn about new high-energy materials and electrolytes developed to enhance energy density, cycle life, and thermal stability.
  

• Gain insight into how test data informs the safe design and certification of eVTOL battery systems.

Lithium-Sulfur Batteries: Scaling High-Energy Chemistries for Flight-Ready Performance

Dennis Wang, Lead Systems Engineer, Lyten

Breakthroughs in lithium-sulfur cell chemistry—enabled by 3D graphene architecture—are addressing key aerospace requirements for energy density, weight reduction, and safety. The session will dive into how lithium-sulfur technology eliminates reliance on critical minerals like nickel and cobalt, offers enhanced thermal stability, and delivers the gravimetric energy needed for extended eVTOL missions.

• Lithium-sulfur vs. lithium-ion: energy density, thermal stability, and sustainability
  

• Role of 3D graphene in enabling sulfur cathode conductivity and cycle life
  

• Elimination of nickel and cobalt: supply chain, cost, and safety advantages
  

• System-level benefits for eVTOL: weight reduction, extended range, and fire mitigation
  

• Manufacturing considerations and challenges for aviation-grade lithium-sulfur cells
  

• Lyten’s roadmap to scalable deployment and aviation pilot programs

Hydrogen & High Altitude: Technical Realities and Opportunities for Zero-Emission eVTOL Propulsion

John Piasecki, President & CEO, Piasecki Aircraft Corporation

Hydrogen can unlock longer range and higher payloads—but only if stack, storage, safety, and infrastructure come together. This session turns hype into hardware choices and cert-ready plans for urban and regional missions.

• Integrate the powertrain: Fuel-cell stack + DC/DC + battery buffer sizing for VTOL transients.
  

• Pick storage wisely: LH₂ vs 350/700-bar—mass/volume, boil-off, venting, and crashworthiness.
  

• Meet VTOL power peaks: Hybrid H₂-battery strategies for takeoff/landing without oversizing.
  

• Mission trades: When fuel cell, battery, or hybrid wins by route, payload, climate.
  

• Safety by design: Leak detection, inerting, ignition control, and post-event safe states.
  

• Certification path: Evidence needs adapted from automotive/space to SC-VTOL/DO-160.
  

• Vertiport readiness: Pads, H₂ storage, refuelling interlocks, and emergency procedures.
  

• Scale the supply: Sourcing aviation-grade H₂, logistics, and cost trajectories.

High-Fidelity CFD Methods for Quadcopter Propulsion–Fuselage Interaction

Jeff Collins, Staff Engineer, SimuTech Group

Capturing rotor–airframe coupling is key to performance, control authority, and cert evidence. This session shows how to push Ansys Fluent with 6-DOF motion, Virtual Blade Model (VBM), overset meshes, and UDFs to model take-off and acceleration accurately.

• 6-DOF dynamics: Set up true take-off/acceleration simulations.
  

• Prop–body coupling: Use VBM + overset meshing to resolve fan–fuselage interactions.
  

• Extend Fluent: Apply UDFs for custom motion, controls, and force models.
  

• Validate & tune: Correlate with test data; sensitivity to grid/time-step settings.
  

• Speed vs fidelity: When to use VBM vs resolved blades; cost/performance trade-offs.

• Actionable workflow: A ready-to-adopt setup template for eVTOL/drone studies.

Pushing the Boundaries of Energy Density: Lithium-Metal Batteries with Nickel-Rich Cathodes for Next-Gen eVTOL Aircraft

Venkat Viswanathan, Faculty Leader, University of Michigan & Co-Founder, And Battery Aero

Lithium-metal anodes paired with nickel-rich cathodes promise step-change Wh/kg and Wh/L—but only if power fade, interphase stability, and safety are solved for eVTOL duty cycles. This session connects lab breakthroughs to flight-relevant metrics.

• Anode–cathode pairing: Why Li-metal + Ni-rich cathodes raise energy density.
  

• Taming power fade: Mechanisms of voltage decay/capacity loss at high C-rates—and fixes.
  

• Electrolytes that last: Formulations/interphase additives to curb dendrites & impedance.
  

• SEI/CEI control: Diagnose + stabilize interphases for reliable high-power output.
  

• Flight metrics: Map cell gains to range, turnaround, thermal stability, and cycle life under VTOL profiles.
  

• Safety hooks: Abuse response, thermal mitigation, and pack-level implications for certification.
  

• Path to packs: Scale-up considerations—manufacturability, quality windows, and test evidence.

Metal Replacement for Next-Generation Battery Enclosures: Composite and Modular Solutions for eVTOL Platforms

Joshua Thean, Head of Composite Engineering, AirGo

Lightweighting and safety compliance are critical to certifying and scaling eVTOL platforms. This session highlights two breakthrough approaches that replace traditional metal enclosures with advanced composite and modular designs:

• AI-Accelerated Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastics (FRTC): Leveraging ATLAS-AI CAE software to cut simulation cycles from weeks to hours, improve accuracy by 90%, and reduce computing loads by 70%.
  

• Lightweighting Case Studies: Results from Autoliv, Safran, and Lear demonstrating >70% weight savings and >90% CO₂ reductions compared to metal solutions.
  

• Modular Battery Enclosures: A novel cell-holder architecture 90% lighter than conventional designs, with ultrathin 0.5 mm walls for maximum packaging efficiency.
  

• Thermal Runaway Containment: Proven ability to contain 100% SOC thermal events, limiting neighboring cells to <100°C under trigger conditions at 460°C.
  

• High-Voltage Safety & Scalability: Full insulation up to 3000V DC and rapid, high-volume assembly validated through OEM-level vibration, drop, and thermal safety testing.

From Certification to Commercialization: Global Lessons from China’s First Type-Certified eVTOL

Zhang Hong, Vice President, EHang

The certification of EHang’s EH216-S in China marked a historic milestone for the eVTOL industry, transitioning from prototype development to authorized commercial operations. This achievement provides critical insights for stakeholders across the globe as they navigate the complex path from type certification to large-scale commercialization.

• How they certified: TC + airworthiness under CAAC—evidence, test flow, and audit rhythm.
  

• Mind the gaps: CAAC vs FAA vs EASA—where rules align, where they diverge, what to bridge.
  

• Ops readiness: Safety cases, vertiport integration, SOPs for day-one reliability.
  

• Scale smart: What China’s deployment teaches about public acceptance and U-space/ATM integration.
  

• Global roadmap: Reusing artifacts for international validation and faster market entry.

From Ground Operations to Certification: Lessons in Delivering Safe and Scalable BVLOS eVTOL Cargo Missions

Chen Rosen, CTO, AIR

As the eVTOL ecosystem matures, the operational and certification frameworks for cargo missions are advancing rapidly. Beyond the technical milestones of aircraft design, the successful delivery of eVTOL cargo services requires seamless integration of ground crews, robust BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) operational protocols, and innovative approaches to aircraft certification.

• Ground Crew Integration: Training, procedures, and communication protocols to ensure safe BVLOS cargo operations.
  

• Operational Lessons Learned: Practical insights from delivering eVTOL aircraft and conducting real-world cargo missions.
  

• Certification Strategies: The potential of Light Sport Aircraft classification as a stepping stone for eVTOL certification and commercialization.
  

• Safety and Scalability: How BVLOS operations, ground infrastructure, and certification frameworks combine to support safe scaling of eVTOL cargo missions.
  

• Industry Roadmap: Aligning operational experience with regulatory progress to accelerate cargo eVTOL deployment.

 Afternoon Refuel & Connect

Hosted By

Designing Luxury in the Sky: Meeting Passenger Expectations for eVTOL Cabin Interiors

High-net-worth individuals—especially in early-adopter regions like the UAE—are setting a new standard for passenger experience. A recent Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) survey reveals that over 96% of affluent prospective eVTOL passengers expect bespoke, culturally-sensitive interiors, and over 83% consider current business jet cabins outdated.

This session explores how OEMs, interior designers, and material suppliers can redefine short-haul air taxi interiors to match and exceed these elevated expectations. Designing ultra-premium interiors for sub-30-minute flights

• Regional design considerations (e.g. Gulf-influenced aesthetics and cultural sensitivities)
  

• Modular cabin layouts and flexible seating for small group travel
  

• Custom lighting, entertainment, and personalization technologies
  

• Why the eVTOL industry is uniquely positioned to leapfrog traditional private aviation standards

Scaling Beta Technologies’ ALIA for Certification, Defense, and Global Operations

Yesaswi Chilamkurti, Battery R&D, BETA Technologies

BETA’s 2025 milestones—urban Class B operations (JFK), special airworthiness progress on ALIA CX300, global demos, and a hybrid-electric turbogenerator program with GE Aerospace—show a dual path: all-electric certification and hybrid scalability for defense and long range. This session distills the technical and operational playbook behind that transition.

• Urban integration: Lessons from Class B ops—ATC procedures, noise envelopes, pad turnarounds.
  

• Hybrid extension: Turbogenerator architecture (power split, thermal, EMI) for range/payload.
  

• Cert & demos: Aligning U.S./EU evidence—SACs, conformity artifacts, and demo-to-cert data reuse.
  

• Battery readiness: Pack safety (TR detect/contain), fast-turn charging windows, cold/hot ops.
  

• Training & sims: High-fidelity simulation for pilot conversion and operator SOP development.
  

• Defense ops: What thousands of Agility Prime movements say about reliability and supportability.
  

• Global playbook: Site activation—from grid/H2 planning to spares/MRO and data reporting.

LG Energy Solution’s Battery Innovations and Partnerships for Next-Gen eVTOL Aircraft

Robert H. Lee, President NA and CSO, LG Energy Solution

LGES is tailoring chemistries, formats, and safety tech for aviation while leveraging auto-scale manufacturing and strategic UAM partnerships. This session translates those assets into cert-ready packs for eVTOL programs.

• Partner to accelerate: UAM collaborations (e.g., Hanwha, PLANA) → integration, data, and supply alignment.
  

• Pick the format: Pouch vs 4680-class cylindrical—energy, power, packaging, and serviceability trade-offs.
  

• Engineer for extremes: Cell designs for high Wh/kg, high C-rate, and hot/cold operations.
  

• Safety by design: SRS® separators, coatings, and pack features for TR resistance and fault isolation.
  

• Design flexibility: Modular packs, cooling interfaces, and BMS options tailored to eVTOL layouts.
  

• Scale & cost: Tap global EV gigafactories and LFP/next-gen R&D for volume, quality, and competitive $/kWh.
  

• Certification hooks: Map cell/pack evidence to DO-311A/DO-160 and continued-airworthiness needs.

Wisk Aero’s Path from Airspace Integration to Global Market Deployment

Backed by Boeing, Wisk is building an autonomy-first stack while laying the ground for infrastructure and regulatory acceptance. The SkyGrid acquisition, U.S./Japan airport partnerships, and a five-year NASA ATM-X collaboration point to a coordinated route from tech readiness to market launch for the Gen 6 autonomous aircraft.

• Autonomy + UTM: How SkyGrid strengthens real-time situational awareness, conformance monitoring, and contingency handling.
  

• Vertiport readiness: What MoUs with Signature, Miami-Dade, JAL Engineering mean for pads, power, and ops in Houston, Miami, L.A., and Kaga City.
  

• ATM research to ops: Using NASA ATM-X results to derisk integration with U.S. NAS procedures and services.
  

• Global playbooks: U.S. vs Japan deployment frameworks—what’s reusable, what must localize.
  

• Certification alignment: Autonomy assurance, data/traceability, and milestones that sync engineering with regulatory pathways.
  

• Operational safety case: End-to-end evidence (flight rules, detect-and-avoid, health monitoring) for autonomous passenger service.

Thermal Management in UAV and eVTOL Batteries: Preventing Hot Spots, Extending Life, and Enhancing Safety

Andy Reynolds, CTO, NeoGraf Solutions

Thermal control dictates range, life, and safety. This session turns materials-led and hybrid cooling into cert-ready designs—showing how graphite spreaders, TIMs, and targeted active cooling eliminate hot spots, slow degradation, and contain events.

• Why thermals matter: Cell temp spread → power fade, aging, and TR risk.
  

• Choose the approach: Passive vs active vs hybrid—weight, complexity, performance.
  

• Materials in action: SpreaderShield™ graphite, HiTherm™ TIMs, NeoNxGen® for hotspot control & propagation resistance.
  

• Case lessons: Ag UAVs (sustained power), delivery UAVs (lightweight hybrids), and scaling to eVTOL duty cycles.
  

• Design details: Vent paths, sensor placement, and turnaround heat removal for fast charging.
  

• Evidence & cert: Test matrices (cell→module→pack), TR containment demos, DO-160/DO-311A hooks.
  

• Maintainability: Service-friendly interfaces (blind-mate coolant), leak detection, and health monitoring.

Redefining Connectivity for Next-Generation eVTOL Platforms

Martin Cullen, Senior Manager Business Development, Global eVTOL Lead

This session will explore TE’s latest innovations, including ultra-light composite connectors, shape-optimized power cables, and the “follow-the-wire” methodology for system-level optimization, and how they are enabling certification-ready eVTOL designs.

• Understand how advanced composite materials are driving weight reduction in eVTOL connectivity systems.
  

• Explore power and data interconnect solutions optimized for high-voltage aviation requirements.
  

• Gain insight into SWaP-focused design strategies to maximize performance while minimizing weight and space.
  

• Learn how “follow-the-wire” methodologies improve safety, reliability, and maintenance efficiency.
  

• Assess how interconnect innovations are enabling certification and scalable production of eVTOL aircraft.

Airspace Integration for eVTOL Operations: Managing Traffic Complexity and Scaling Solutions

This session will explore the operational and regulatory hurdles of integrating eVTOLs into existing airspace, and the emerging solutions—including geofencing, dedicated corridors, remote vertiport networks, and dynamic traffic management systems—that are being developed to support safe and scalable adoption.

• Airspace Design Challenges: Interfacing eVTOL flight patterns with conventional air traffic around high-density airports.
  

• Routing and Safety: Strategies to avoid conflicts, manage separation, and maintain resilience in complex operational environments.
  

• Geofencing & Corridors: How controlled airspace zones and dedicated aerial highways can simplify traffic flows.
  

• Remote Vertiport Networks: Linking distributed vertiports into wider traffic management frameworks.
  

• Dynamic Traffic Systems: Leveraging AI and real-time data to build adaptive traffic control for high-frequency urban eVTOL operations.

Operational & Technology Enablement: Advancing Autonomous and Pilotless eVTOL Systems

The move toward autonomous and pilotless flight represents one of the most transformative shifts in the eVTOL sector. Companies like Evolito and Wisk Aero are pioneering the integration of advanced autonomy into both propulsion and flight operations, reducing reliance on human pilots while enhancing safety, scalability, and economic viability.

This session will examine how next-generation autonomous technologies are being developed, validated, and integrated into eVTOL platforms, alongside the operational frameworks needed to safely deploy pilotless systems in complex airspace.

• Autonomy in Propulsion & Control: Evolito’s electrified propulsion systems with integrated autonomous control features.
  

• End-to-End Autonomy: Wisk’s Gen 6 program as the first fully autonomous, all-electric, four-passenger eVTOL designed for scalable urban air mobility.
  

• Safety & Certification Pathways: Building trust with regulators and the public through redundancy, simulation, and certification strategies for autonomous systems.
  

• Operational Integration: Airspace management, vertiport operations, and traffic coordination for unmanned eVTOL services.
  

• Economic Impact: How autonomy reshapes business models, reduces operating costs, and unlocks new service opportunities in cargo, regional mobility, and urban transport.

Fan-in-Wing Transition, Extended Range, and the Future of Sustainable Regional eVTOL Flight

Horizon Aircraft has emerged as a key innovator in hybrid-electric eVTOL development, achieving the first successful forward transition flight using its patented fan-in-wing design in 2025. The company’s flagship Cavorite X7 blends vertical lift with efficient fixed-wing cruise, designed to perform 98% of missions in wing-borne mode. This approach enables extended ranges up to 800 km, speeds of 450 km/h, and lower operational costs than comparable rotorcraft.

Looking ahead, Horizon is partnering with ZeroAvia to explore hydrogen-electric propulsion integration, while also advancing full-scale demonstrator development supported by a strong financial base and design collaboration with Andrea Mocellin. This session will showcase the technical breakthroughs, propulsion strategies, and commercialization roadmap that position Horizon at the forefront of sustainable regional air mobility.

• Understand the engineering challenges and solutions behind fan-in-wing technology.

• Assess the trade-offs of hybrid-electric propulsion compared to all-electric eVTOL architectures.

• Explore how hydrogen-electric systems could extend the sustainability of regional eVTOL operations.
  

• Gain insight into the role of industrial design and ergonomics in shaping next-gen air mobility platforms.

• Learn how Horizon’s roadmap from prototype to commercialization demonstrates a model for scaling regional hybrid eVTOL operations.

Chair’s Closing Remarks

All Attendee Drinks Reception & Food