Unmanned

European Innovation Council Awards €2.5M Grant to Dronamics

By Jessica Reed | November 28, 2022
Send Feedback | @Jessica_A_Reed

Dronamics was just awarded a €2.5 million grant from the European Commission’s European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program. The funds will support continued development and rollout of Dronamics’ cargo drones. (Photo: Dronamics)

Dronamics announced last week that the European Commission’s European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program awarded them a grant of €2.5 million. These funds will support development and rollout of Dronamics’ fleet of large cargo drones. The grant also goes towards deployment of droneports in the company’s network and towards support of general operations in Europe.

Svilen Rangelov, co-founder and CEO of Dronamics, commented that the support from the EIC serves “as testament to the impact that cargo drone logistics can have on the European Union economy at large.” The EIC has also made commitments in support of the company’s upcoming Series A round.

Rangelov remarked, “We will use this grant to establish our European operations and keep bringing innovation to help elevate communities and businesses using breakthroughs in aviation and technology that will revolutionize air cargo mobility.”

Nearly 1,000 candidates applied for funding by the EIC Accelerator program, which awarded grants to only a handful of companies. 

Dronamics is headquartered in the UK. The company announced Quickstep as its first strategic manufacturing partner earlier this year. Quickstep will oversee manufacturing of the cargo drones in New South Wales, Australia. Dronamics plans to enter the Australian market in 2023.

Dronamics claims to be the first cargo drone company to receive a European drone airline license, or light UAS operator certificate (LUC), which is granted individually by European national aviation authorities. 

“Built specifically for cargo, unlike other aircraft, the Black Swan can carry the same load as a small cargo van at a distance of up to 2,500 km, resulting in cost, time, and carbon emission savings.” (Photo: Dronamics)

In an interview with Avionics International earlier this year, CEO Rangelov shared that the team’s strategy is “to create a new type of vehicle that’s more efficient to produce and more efficient to operate than existing technology.”

Rangelov also participated in a recent webinar on the future of advanced air mobility, along with the CEOs of Elroy Air, Pyka, and MightyFly. All four companies are developing cargo drones for different missions and markets. The Black Swan that Dronamics is developing will be operated as a middle-mile solution for distances of at least 300 miles.

Receive the latest avionics news right to your inbox