Startup Aerovy Mobility has developed software solutions to assist in planning and setting up charging infrastructure for electric aircraft. (Photo: Electro.Aero)
Aerovy Mobility, a startup newly launched by Purdue University graduate students, is developing software that company founders said will help airports and other entities to plan for and manage electric aircraft charging for advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles.
“Aerovy software tools help airports and vertiports plan for, and remotely manage, electric aircraft operations,” Aerovy CEO Nick Gunad, a Ph.D. candidate in Purdue’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, told Avionics International. “Airports are seeking to overhaul energy infrastructure to support the increase in energy demand—electrification of both ground mobility and aviation.”
Aerovy’s planning software tool called AATLAS will help airports and future vertiport operators identify optimal sites for powering electric aircraft and the necessary assets, including battery storage systems and hydrogen generators, needed at those sites, according to the company. An operational software called VEMS will provide a “live energy management tool that manages the energy that flows through onsite assets and coordinates with the grid and aircraft fleets, minimizing operating cost over time,” Aerovy stated when announcing its launch.
“The AATLAS planning software identifies locations that would attract the most demand so operators would be able to make back their investments quickly,” Gunady explained. “It also assesses the expected usage over time, simulating charging events minute by minute throughout the day. We can size power generation and storage assets, which enables end users to reduce dependence on the grid.”
Gunady added that the VEMS operational software “automatically connects users with all their assets at infrastructure sites, including chargers and off-grid energy systems. Customers will have full control over their infrastructure site without physically needing to be there.”
Gunady said in an interview that “energy will be the greatest barrier to scalability for AAM,” adding: “However, many of the physical assets required for future AAM charging will be similar, if not the same core technologies behind ground mobility charging assets. Aerovy’s software tools allow these assets to be [deployed with] adequate preparation and analysis of expected energy requirements.”
He added the barrier toward electric charging of aircraft is not charging stations, but the assets needed to operate those stations. “AAM charging infrastructure can be installed relatively quickly, but currently a lead time exists for procurement of the necessary assets for charging,” Gunady said. “Aerovy has several hardware partners to provide an end-to-end solution for anyone interested in airport electrification.”
Aerory said it has established partnerships with Altaport, an automation software company based in Salt Lake City; Electro Aero, an electric aviation charging technology company based in Perth, Australia; Greenstar Aviation Partners, an investment firm based in New York; and Skyportz, a developer of vertiport infrastructure based in South Yarra, Australia.
“The company has several memorandums of understanding in place,” Aerovy said.” It is looking to raise funds by the end of 2023.”
Purdue said it is “connected” with the startup.