Archer Aviation, BETA Technologies and Macquarie Capital Launch ACES: America’s Consortium for Electric Skyways to Bring Interoperable Charging to 250+ Aviation Sites Across America by 2030
- Archer Aviation, BETA Technologies and Macquarie Capital are partnering to launch America’s Consortium for Electric Skyways (ACES), with a goal to electrify up to 250 air taxi sites across America's largest airports and metro areas over the next decade.
- The consortium will deploy BETA’s electric aviation chargers built on the Combined Charging Standard ("CCS") - the open charging standard endorsed by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association ("GAMA") and broadly adopted across the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) industry.
- As selected participants in the FAA's eVTOL Integration Pilot Program ("eIPP"), the consortium will prioritize deploying charging infrastructure in markets where Archer and BETA plan to operate, positioning the consortium at the center of the White House’s push to lead the world in commercializing this next generation of aviation technologies.
- The approach behind ACES is what makes this network viable in a way no single company could deliver alone. As founding launch partners, Archer, BETA and Macquarie Capital will work to bring additional infrastructure, OEM partners and capital into the network so the industry can scale together.
- Macquarie Capital, the advisory, capital markets and principal investment arm of Macquarie Group, brings decades of aviation infrastructure expertise and 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.
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.
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The consortium approach is what makes this network viable in a way no single company could deliver alone:
- BETA Technologies 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.
"The eVTOL Integration Pilot Program is about more than just getting electric aircraft flying in American cities - it's about building the infrastructure ecosystem needed to support commercial operations," said Dan Edwards, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation. "By bringing 250+ interoperable charging sites in eIPP markets and beyond, America’s Consortium for Electric Skyways is helping to lay the foundation for the United States to win in the next era of advanced aviation."
"Electric air taxi operations can't scale without the infrastructure to charge them. That's why we're building the backbone to support the next 250 years of electric aviation in America," said founder & chief executive officer of Archer Aviation, Adam Goldstein. "We're putting interoperable chargers in the locations where we plan to fly, including the core eIPP markets, and using the industry-adopted charging standard so every operator can share in their usage and distribute the cost across the whole industry. This is how you build the foundation for the next-gen aviation technologies that will transform how Americans move through their cities."
Designed for industry-wide operations, the charging network creates a shared infrastructure model where multiple operators and use cases run on the same chargers, with Archer accessing the network for passenger air taxi operations during peak operational hours and BETA’s customers using it to support cargo operations and medical transport. The model extends even further at major airports by making CCS-compatible chargers available to airport ground support vehicles, establishing the truly open, shared aviation infrastructure needed to build airports of the future.
This approach creates the pathway for additional infrastructure operators, OEMs and investors to join in on building a unified network rather than fragment into competing proprietary systems.
"The infrastructure required to open our nation’s airports and future vertiports to advanced air mobility is a fraction of what people expect," said Kyle Clark, founder and chief executive officer of BETA Technologies. "By deploying interoperable chargers built on an open standard, we're putting in place nearly all the physical infrastructure this industry needs, built so every operator can use it."
David Farkas, Managing Director, Aerospace, Defense & Government Services, Macquarie Capital, commented: "Macquarie Capital has spent three decades building essential infrastructure that powers economies around the world. This consortium brings together the right combination of technology, operations, and advice on arranging capital to do the same for electric aviation. We are helping to build the foundation of a national network that every eVTOL manufacturer can rely on, and a template for how partnerships can accelerate the next generation of urban mobility in America and beyond."
Archer Aviation and BETA Technologies are exhibiting at the Farnborough International Airshow from July 20-24. From 12:00 - 12:45 BST on July 21st, Archer Aviation will host a fireside chat at B020 outside of Hall 1 with Archer Founder & CEO, Adam Goldstein, Founder & CEO of BETA Technologies, Kyle Clark, and FAA Associate Administrator for Airports, Dan Edwards to discuss what this partnership means for the future of the eVTOL industry and how it establishes a development path for other markets to follow.
About Archer
Archer builds the aircraft and core technologies that will define the next era of flight for aerospace and defense.
To learn more, visit www.archer.com.
Source: Archer
Text: ArcherIR
About BETA Technologies, Inc.
BETA (NYSE:BETA) is an aerospace and defense company designing, manufacturing and selling high-performance electric aircraft, advanced electric propulsion systems, components and charging systems to top operators worldwide. BETA has built and flown its family of ALIA aircraft, consisting of both conventional fixed-wing electric aircraft (the "ALIA CTOL") and electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (the "ALIA VTOL"), more than 160,000 nautical miles, including multiple trips across the United States. BETA is deploying a network of charging infrastructure to enable the growing industry with more than 100 sites across the United States and internationally. BETA’s intentional approach to developing the enabling technologies necessary to electrify aviation unlocks lucrative aftermarket revenue opportunities over the life of each aircraft. These highly scalable enabling technologies allow BETA to serve a customer base across cargo and logistics, defense, passenger and medical end markets and unlock cost-effective and safe missions. Visit www.beta.team for more information about BETA and its products.
About Macquarie Capital
Macquarie Capital is the advisory, capital markets and principal investment arm of Macquarie Group. It encompasses corporate advisory, a full spectrum of capital solutions, including capital raising services from equity, debt and private capital markets and principal investments from Macquarie’s balance sheet. Macquarie Capital has deep sector expertise in the aerospace, defense and government services, consumer, gaming and leisure, critical minerals, energy, financial institutions, healthcare, industrials, infrastructure, real estate, services, software, technology, telecommunications and media sectors.
Visit Macquarie Capital’s website for more information.
Archer’s Forward-Looking Statements and Disclaimers
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding Archer’s future business plans, expectations, and opportunities. These statements include those regarding design, target specifications and use cases of its aircraft; timing of Archer’s development and commercialization of its aircraft, plans relating to infrastructure buildout and operations under the eIPP; development of its planned lines of business and opportunities; and anticipated benefits of collaborations with third parties. Forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed in Archer’s filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, available at investors.archer.com and at www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that Archer believes to be reasonable as of the date of this press release. Archer undertakes no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.
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Media Contacts:
Archer: Archer@TheBrandAmp.com
Source: Archer Aviation
Text: ArcherIR
BETA Technologies
Press: Nat Bol, press@beta.team
Investors: Devon Rothman, investors@beta.team
