Clay Lacy Boosts Development in AAM Sphere

Joby Aviation has announced a definitive agreement with Southern California local Clay Lacy Aviation to install the area's first electric air taxi charger at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, CA. 

Joby’s own in-house Global Electric Aviation Charging System (GEACS) will be included as part of Clay Lacy’s planned $100 million redevelopment of its FBO terminal, targeted to open in the middle of 2025. The GEACS interface has already been implemented at the relatively close Joby test center in Marina, as well as the Edwards AFB as a part of the AFWERX campaign there.

The charging system will one day litter the aviation ecosystem, providing charging support for Joby aircraft as they head out on 100-sm routes- if Joby finds the partners, at least. A raft of competing eVTOL designs provide much interference in the market, and dominance remains up in the air for whichever company is first to claim it. For now, Joby has a pretty good start on the rest of the pack, building relations with government and corporate stakeholders like Clay Lacy. The firm still brags about its agreement with Delta Air Lines, a deal that will "deliver seamless airport trips for its customers across several locations, including Los Angeles."

“Today’s announcement marks a key moment on the path to delivering our air taxi service in the Greater Los Angeles area,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby. “We’re taking concrete steps to ensure the right infrastructure is in place to support our future service and we’re grateful to be working with an industry pioneer like Clay Lacy Aviation to lead the way in bringing sustainable aviation to Southern California.

“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,” he added.

FMI: www.jobyaviation.com