First Ever Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Air Mobility Solution Debuted
Alaka'i Technologies unveiled Skai, the first hydrogen fuel cell powered air mobility solution. The company designed Skai to transform the way the world moves. The sleek, uncluttered design delivers what Alaka'i Technologies claims to be a radically simple and safe electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle.
What makes the air vehicle unique, is that it runs entirely on hydrogen fuel cells. The company contends that Skai is poised to be one of the safest, cleanest, and most versatile air mobility solutions.
Skai's core team is made up of nationally-recognized aerospace experts, engineers, and veteran pilots. These experts have served in top-level positions at NASA, Raytheon, DayJet, Beech, Cirrus, and the Department of Defense, and they collaborated to help solve some of the world's most pressing global challenges in transportation, energy, and the environment.
Designworks, the design innovation studio for the BMW Group co-designed Skai.
The result, according to Alaka'i Technologies, is Skai, stripped of all unnecessary complexity, waste, and possible points of failure. The design leaves the most essential elements for the craft and optimizing them for the most intuitive experience, the company says.
"This remarkably impressive team have come together to build on our collective experience to finally realize our singular, critical vision to launch Skai and transform transportation," said Brian Morrison, Co-Founder, President and Chief Technology Officer of Alaka'i Technologies. "Skai offers practical, real-life solutions to everything from relieving traffic congestion to delivering supplies during natural disasters. Skai is set to offer affordable, realistic applications in the commercial, private, freight, and personal air mobility markets."
The vehicle's Hydrogen fuel cells have the advantage of being 95% reusable and the remaining (99%) recyclable to provide reliable, safe and environmentally clean emission comprised solely of heat and water, making them a stark alternative to conventional fuel and battery sources. Hydrogen fuel cells let Skai travel further distances and carry a greater payload, the company points out.
It uses six reliable, quiet, efficient electric motors with designed-in redundancy. The vehicle boasts an impressive range of up to about 400miles or four hours of flight, and it seats up to five passengers. For safety, it features an Airframe Parachute.
"Air mobility is a very exciting and fascinating topic," said Holger Hampf, President of Designworks. "Our focus for this project was to help build a new consumer-facing brand from scratch - considering and designing all touchpoints - digital, physical and service. And as a result, delivering an all-encompassing user-centric experience which is purposeful and highly desirable in all aspects."
Alaka'i Technologies has begun its test program with the FAA. Pending certification, the company says that Skai will create new possibilities in personal mobility for everyone, efficient emergency responses, economical freight distribution, and the utilization of hydrogen fuel cells as a highly reliable, zero-emission power source.
The company is first launching a piloted version with an autonomous version to follow.
