Page 16 - AAA NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022 Online Magazine

© Dronamics

equipment, as well as its autonomous and use its fossil-free fuel, Zero SynAVGAS fuel, in the drone. In yet
semi-autonomous remote fleet control another major sustainability initiative, Dronamics is working with
system with worldwide coverage. This enables Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS), a company developing
Dronamics to reach where traditional aircraft zero emissions solutions for aerospace, to integrate hydrogen
does not, and also eliminates the need for fuel-cell technology into the Black Swan’s engine.
local warehousing, thus resulting in a sub-
stantial reduction in time, cost, and emissions. Enthusiastic Response
The droneports can be installed at unused
airfields, airports, seaports, logistic centers, The company has seen a spike in interest from prospective cus-
and factory lots, with the aircraft able to land tomers as well regulators across regions, says Rangelov. “The
on paved or unpaved airstrips that are at least pandemic has opened the eyes of more stakeholders to the
400m in length. benefits of unmanned technology. There is already autopilot
in passenger aviation. The level of automation has reached a
Set For The Next Phase certain point that people have started to see the path toward
being able to move goods less dependent on humans traveling
The initial years were spent finetuning the air- with them. In our model, we will have pilots on the ground in
craft’s design and capabilities, but with the every city where we operate. There are always humans in control
first commercial flight on the horizon, the of the flight. It is like an airplane, just that the pilots are outside
focus has shifted to partnering with major of the airplane.”
players in the air cargo industry. In July last
year, Dronamics announced that it had The company is planning to adopt a phased approach to its oper-
been selected by DHL as its first middle-mile ations in various regions. “We are doing this first in Europe, and
drone partner; the partnership, which has the then in Australia,” says Rangelov. ”Australia will be the gateway
potential to generate €1.86 Bn in revenues, for Southeast Asia. The U.S. is a very well-developed market,
provides mutual exclusivity in selected indus- but there is still a lot of potential for business as there are still
tries and markets. As many as 4,000 drones a number of locations that are less connected. The sheer scale
are expected to be pressed into service to of the market itself gives it a lot of weight. In Southeast Asia,
support the partnership. The same month, you have the fastest growth in e-commerce worldwide, but the
the company signed a contract with Hellmann region has very challenging terrain where air is the only option
Worldwide Logistics that involves the use of other than sea. That we see as a huge market. We have conver-
its drones for cross-border transportation of sations in a number of other markets as well. We will see how
time-critical goods in Europe. that accelerates as we progress through the development and
production of the drone.”
If success in commercial operations is one big
goal, sustainability is another. Black Swan, Over the last two years, the company has grown from 20 people
which runs on biofuels as well as synthetic to 150. “We now have people in 14 countries,” says Rangelov.
fuels, operates at 60 per cent lower emis- “We are growing fast and also attracting a lot of talent from
sions than other means of transportation other industries. Five years from now, I foresee about 1,000
with the goal of net-zero. In October, the drones in the air. The demand far exceeds that number, it is just
company, which is CarbonNeutral certified, a matter of execution and being able to manufacture enough
signed a partnership with Zero Petroleum to aircraft to meet the demand.”

16 | NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2022 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA