AutoFlight, the commercial electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer backed by battery manufacturer CATL, has introduced a floating “sea-air mobility” platform designed to serve as a deployable airport for its aircraft.
The company said the autonomous Water Vertiport can be positioned on oceans, rivers or lakes and is equipped with solar-powered charging, onboard energy storage, dispatch systems and communications infrastructure. The platform is intended to support passenger transport, cargo flights, emergency response, offshore maintenance and other missions that require vertical take-off and landing capability away from fixed runways. AutoFlight noted in its announcement that the system “can be deployed anywhere,” describing it as part of a wider multi-environment mobility network.
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The firm said multiple platforms could operate together as a distributed cluster, enabling what it calls a “Sea-Air Super Hub” for higher-volume and multi-mission operations. The floating vertiport is positioned as a complement to AutoFlight’s eVTOL aircraft lineup, which includes models for air-taxi services, firefighting, rescue operations and industrial tasks.
AutoFlight, which has received significant investment from CATL, said it has accumulated more than 2,000 aircraft orders. It also claims the water-based platform could reduce emergency response times by half and accelerate offshore wind and oil-rig maintenance by a factor of ten. According to the company, the system will allow air-taxi services to bypass congested transport routes and connect more directly with airports or city centres.
CATL, already a dominant supplier in the electric-vehicle sector, is expanding its aviation portfolio with higher-density batteries and modular charging systems. The broader eVTOL industry is still at an early stage, but analysts expect rapid commercialisation as manufacturers pursue new markets across air, land and maritime environments.
Source: AutoFlight