Page 13 - FARNBOROUGH 2022 SHOW REVIEW

Trends Watch
THE

NEW WAVE

FUNDING FOR FUTURE AIR
MOBILITY DECLINES IN THE
FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THE
YEAR AS THE FOCUS OF THE
AVIATION INDUSTRY TURNS
TO SUSTAINABILITY
INITIATIVES

− ARUN SIVASANKARAN
For those who attended Farnborough Airshow 2022 and wit- it right, and we will see a disruptive new mode of
nessed firsthand the urban air taxi frenzy – concept vehicles mobility emerge.”
vying for attention and headlines – it is hard to believe that
funding for future air mobility (FAM) actually declined in the first One of the primary reasons for the decline in
half of 2022 compared to 2021. funding for FAM? You guessed right – the shift in
momentum to the sustainable aviation segment.
One of the primary reasons for the decline in funding for FAM? While sustainable aviation was responsible for just
You guessed right – the shift in momentum to the sustainable 2 per cent of funding in the first half of 2021, the
aviation segment. While sustainable aviation was responsible figure jumped to 23 per cent in the first half of 2022
for just 2 per cent of funding in the first half of 2021, the figure as a result of funding raised by companies such as
jumped to 23 per cent in the first half of 2022 as a result of fund- Cranfield Aerospace Solutions and Surf Air Mobility.
ing raised by companies such as Cranfield Aerospace Solutions According to the report, decarbonization will drive
and Surf Air Mobility. more interest in sustainable conventional take-off
and landing aircraft powered by battery electric,
According to a McKinsey & Company report released during hybrid and hydrogen sources. The cargo delivery
the recently concluded airshow, industry funding for FAM from market could be ready to scale with potential cap-
January through June this year was $US2.2 billion, which is a ital influxes from small to large drone sizes, it adds.
significant decrease from the same period last year, when $US4.3
billion flowed into the sector. The cumulative disclosed industry Prominent among the new breed of electric vertical
funding so far for the sector is US$15 billion. There was a decline take-off and landing (eVTOL) platforms promoted
of about 25 per cent in deal activity in the first half of the year as at the event were that of Embraer subsidiary Eve
well compared to the corresponding period last year. Average Urban Mobility, which unveiled its cabin mockup
deal size also fell. at the airshow, Vertical Aerospace, Lillium, Overair
and Supernal. While almost all these platforms
Still in Good Health as well as California-based Joby Aviation will be
The first signs of worry? No, says Tore Johnston, Franz Reuel, manned at least initially, Wisk Aero, which is owned
and Robin Riedel, in the report. “Some may question whether by Boeing and Kitty Hawk , is going straight for
FAM players will continue to attract capital. We believe that unmanned flights, and wants to seek certification
skepticism is misplaced. True, funding has slowed on an annual for the aircraft around 2028.
basis, but that is compared to a record US$6.9 billion in disclosed
funding in 2021. Over the long-term, capital flows are still ahead The Way to Decarbonization
of the pace in prior years. The short-term slowdown in funding Even though fuel related emissions account for
thus far in 2022 is merely a resumption of normal growth after a almost 99 percent of total lifecycle emissions of
big spike in 2021.” commercial aircraft, decarbonization is a mas-
sive goal that the industry will only achieve if it
According to the authors, the FAM industry is applying a portfo- also devotes attention to reducing non-fuel-re-
lio approach, casting a wide net, and letting a broad range of lated emissions in the lifecycle, McKinsey says in
companies pursue their own solutions. “Some will inevitably fail, another report. More attention should be paid to
and—as with the current blip in funding—that should not be taken the non-fuel-related emissions of aircraft across
as a signal of deeper problems. So many different concepts their full lifecycle, which encompasses the mate-
and designs are in development that some companies will get rials, manufacturing, assembly, and maintenance

FARNBOROUGH INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW 2022 AUGUST 2022 13