Air taxi rivals Joby, BETA reveal dueling eVTOL charging deals

Competition appears to be heating up between electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) plane manufacturers Joby and BETA Technologies, with the two startups announcing deals to install their air taxi recharging systems in airports on opposite sides of the US.

The announcements on significant eVTOL recharging partnerships by both companies came within around 24 hours of each other. Joby came out first with news it had signed a deal with Clay Lacy Aviation to install what is says will be Southern California’s first electric air taxi charger at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport (SNA) – part of an electrification effort worth $100 million. BETA stepped up next with word it has inked an accord with fixed-base operator (FBO) and aeronautics services provider Atlantic Aviation to supply its East and Gulf Coast airports with eVTOL and ground vehicle batter chargers. 

BETA did not reveal an amount for transaction, but said one of its multimodal, interoperable chargers is already in place at New York’s Elmira Regional Airport, with host site agreements concluded for three additional locations. The Vermont-based startup noted that the Atlantic Aviation facilities will be added to BETA’s growing network of charging stations across the US, which currently totals 17 locations plus 55 sites in the permitting or construction process.

Joby, for its part, said electrical infrastructure to support its Global Electric Aviation Charging System (GEACS) will be installed at SNA as part of the reconfiguration of the FBO terminal to service eVTOL aircraft. Completion of the effort is slated for mid-2025, roughly the time Joby plans on launching air taxi services – including airport shuttles for Delta Airlines passengers in the Los Angeles area, as well as in other US cities.

The close timing of the Joby and BETA announcements echoes similarly paired communiqués each released last November. In those, Joby reiterated its eagerness to work with other eVTOL companies to share the tech behind its GEACS system, with the view of establishing it as the industry standard. Almost as if in retort, BETA immediately released news of its partnership with rival air taxi manufacturer Archer on co-development of its open-use, multi-vehicle recharging system.

In revealing the deal to equip SNA with air taxi charging equipment Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt appeared to repeat tones of that November appeal to other eVTOL developers.

“Today’s announcement marks a key moment on the path to delivering our air taxi service in the Greater Los Angeles area,” Bervit said. “The charging technology we have developed is optimized to support our whole industry, from air taxis delivering short range city flights to more conventional electric aircraft flying longer distances. Joby made the specifications for the universal charging interface freely available to the wider industry in November 2023, to help accelerate the transition to clean flight. We’re therefore very pleased to see it being adopted in this key market.”

Not to be outdone, BETA Technologies’ head of charge network development, Nate Ward, stressed the importance of the startup’s new partnership with Atlantic Aviation in positioning its charging tech as a potential industry standard – not only for eVTOL air taxis, but all battery-powered vehicles operating at airports.

“As a premier FBO company, Atlantic Aviation has a strong pulse on the needs of the market and a long history of innovating to meet demand,” Ward said. “Over the past several years, BETA has been focused on deploying a reliable, well-distributed network of fast chargers to enable the entire advanced air mobility industry, and we are aligned with the team at Atlantic on our mission. This collaboration represents an important step in growing a network across North America, and we look forward to working together to bring this vision to fruition.”