By Allison Lampert and Gabriel Araujo
MONTREAL, SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazil’s Embraer could get certification of its electric aircraft in 2027, but the new president of the country’s aviation regulator told Reuters he would like to hit that milestone a year earlier.
Embraer’s subsidiary Eve is among several firms developing battery-powered aircraft that can take off and land vertically to ferry travelers on short city trips, a segment seen as key to future growth for the world’s third-largest planemaker.
Eve, which has amassed nearly 3,000 potential orders ahead of production, currently expects its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to enter service in 2027, a year later than initially planned.
Tiago Faierstein, the recently appointed president of Brazil’s civil aviation regulator ANAC, said in an interview on Sunday afternoon that the regulator would do what it could to help Embraer certify the aircraft next year.
“Let’s work with 2027, but our goal, our desire is to be in 2026,” Faierstein said on the sidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Innovation Fair in Montreal, which ends on Monday.
Certification of the eVTOL aircraft is the top priority for ANAC, he said, but the timing would depend on Embraer as “their technology has to be mature” to be certified.
Eve’s entry into service depends on the development of infrastructure like vertiports and tackling challenges such as power grid infrastructure and air traffic management, not just the certification of the so-called flying taxis.
“We are focused on deploying in the market, not just the certification,” Faierstein said.
Embraer CEO Francisco Gomes Neto told Reuters last month that he had been in touch with ANAC, and “everything was well controlled” ahead of the eVTOL certification.
“At the moment, the plan is for the end of 2027,” he said when asked about entry into service. “The whole team is committed and working with that timeline.”
Eve has preorders for the eVTOL from about 28 customers in nine countries, ANAC said, which is creating a challenge for regulators to come up with common rules so the eVTOLs could cross borders.
The regulator would first collect data in Brazil and then share it with partners and the UN’s ICAO, which is holding its triennial assembly starting on Tuesday.
“First we are focused on the data that we are acquiring in Brazil,” Faierstein said. “Then we will share the data with ICAO and other countries to harmonize the regulations.”
Eve debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in 2022 and recently raised fresh funds from Brazil’s state development bank BNDES and Embraer. Other investors include United Airlines, BAE Systems, Nidec, Thales and Acciona.
(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Gabriel Araujo in Sao Paulo; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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