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The Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market, with its electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs), also known as “flying cars”, is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality. One of the fundamental requirements for this to happen is vertiports. And Brazil has already placed itself at the forefront of this subject, which will be one of the main ones to be discussed during the 3rd eVTOL Forum — Aviation of the Future, organized by MundoGEO and IEG, which will be held during Expo eVTOL 2025, from June 3 to 5 at Expo Center Norte – Pavilhão Azul, in São Paulo (SP).
In 2024, the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) opened a call for proposals for interested companies to participate in the experimental regulatory environment for vertiports. Out of 38 proposals, the agency selected two projects to monitor for 24 months and obtain subsidies to include in future regulations specifically for the construction of this type of infrastructure, which is not a heliport, much less an airport.
This model adopted by ANAC differs from other places in the world, such as the United States and Europe, which have already drawn up their own guides for the construction of vertiports. This path, however, allows the industry itself to test new technologies and make Brazilian regulations more robust and based on practical experimentation.
In this sense, representatives from Anac and the two selected companies — VertiMob Infrastructure and PAX Aeroportos — will participate in the 3rd eVTOL Forum to present what is already being done and what the next steps will be for the regulatory sandbox.
The following will be gathered on a panel at the Forum:
- Eduardo Henn Bernardi – Certification and Operational Safety Manager at Anac
- Bruno Limoeiro – CEO of VertiMob Infrastructure
- Rogerio Prado – CEO of PAX Airports
The 3rd eVTOL Forum program also includes 13 other panels that will discuss topics related to the eVTOL market, such as commercial operations, economic viability, aircraft certification, airspace digitalization, human resources training, propulsion technologies, cybersecurity, among others. With national and international speakers, the forum will have simultaneous translation in Portuguese, English and Spanish. The program can be accessed on the website www.expoevtol.com.
“Vertiports are the backbone of the Urban Air Mobility market. Without them, this sector would not exist. That is why we made a point of including this topic in the 3rd eVTOL Forum program and showing all participants how Brazil is positioning itself among the main global players in this technology that will change the landscape of cities,” says MundoGEO CEO Emerson Granemann.
In addition to the forum, MundoGEO will organize the 1st Seminar on eVTOLs in the Urban Air Mobility Ecosystem, aimed especially at public managers and focusing on mobility projects in cities. Important companies from the Air Mobility sector have confirmed their presence at the trade fair, such as Eve Air Mobility, Moya Aero, EHang, V8, Ave Technology, among others. Anac and the Department of Airspace Control (Decea) will also be present.
In the 2024 edition, Expo eVTOL brought together more than 8 visitors from 33 countries, representing 42% growth compared to the 2023 fair — the event is held simultaneously with MundoGEO Connect, DroneShow Robotics and SpaceBR Show. In addition, it had more than 200 brands and grew 50% in area. One of the highlights of the event was the content offered through courses, seminars and forums with experts discussing projects, regulations and trends. There were more than 150 hours of content, with more than 180 speakers in the activities.
The eVTOL Expo is organized by MundoGEO, which belongs to the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG). Simultaneously to the eVTOL Expo, three other events with great synergy take place at the same location: DroneShow Robotics, about professional drones; MundoGEO Connect, about technologies for capturing and analyzing reality; and SpaceBR Show, about the sector’s production chain and solutions that come from space.
