A joint venture in Seattle called evion has reached an agreement with Massachusetts based Cape air to purchase 75 evion Alice all electric aircraft.
The letter of intent is another proposition after that put forward by Omer bar yohay, then CEO of evion in 2019. Yohai said that Cape airlines would become the company’s first customer. Bar yohay said at the time that Alice’s commuter aircraft was priced at $4 million per aircraft, but evision said it would not disclose the financial details of the Cape Air deal.
Bar yohay left evion in February on the grounds of “long-term differences” with the company’s major shareholder, the Clermont group of Singapore. Gregory Davis, a longtime Aerospace executive, took over as interim CEO of the private company headquartered in Arlington, Washington.
Evion has begun ground testing the Alice prototype, but these tests are not always perfect – this is the expectation of a new model. In February, evion said Alice’s first flight test would take place “in the next few weeks”, but the company now says it plans to reach this milestone this summer.
Alice will be powered by two 850 horsepower motors produced by magnix, a climont group company headquartered in Everett, Washington., It’s near evion headquarters. It is designed to carry up to nine passengers and two crew members on a single charge in a zero emission flight, with a flight distance of 440 nautical miles (500 legal miles).
If everything goes according to plan, evision’s goal is to fly the production version of Alice aircraft in 2024 and deliver it after the certification activity.
As a commuter airline, Cape Airlines is in the best position in Alice’s market. Although the company is headquartered in Massachusetts, it serves nearly 40 cities in the United States (including cities in eastern Montana) and the Caribbean.
“Truly sustainable aviation can not only reduce the environmental impact of air travel, but also make commercial sense,” Jessica Pruss, vice president of sales of evision, said in a press release. “We are proud to support Cape air, the recognized leader in regional air travel, to open up new avenues for innovative solutions for the benefit of airline operators, passengers, communities and society.”
Evision also envisages using Alice for freight and executive business travel. Last year, DHL Express said it had ordered more than a dozen Alice ecargo aircraft.
Several other companies are looking for ways to electric aviation. For example, magnix plans to retrofit seaplanes operated by harbor airlines, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is working with other partners. Last year, magnix received a $74.3 million contract from NASA to demonstrate the aircraft’s electric propulsion technology.
Meanwhile, Amazon and Alaska Airlines are investing in zeroavia, a company that develops hydrogen electric hybrid aircraft and has established a research and development facility in Everett. Amazon’s climate commitment fund also funded another e-aviation startup called beta technologies.
Evion is one of the finalists of the 2022 geekwire annual Innovation Award. Go to geekwire awards to see all the finalists, vote for your favorite people, and reserve space for the award ceremony in Sodo hall in Seattle on May 12.