"15-Minute Cut from Gwanghwamun to Yongin by Air Taxi"… Hanwha Systems Accelerates UAM Development

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Hanwha Systems is expanding its air mobility business by accelerating large-scale fundraising and technology commercialization. The goal is to become a comprehensive UAM solution provider offering everything from aircraft development to urban air mobility (UAM) infrastructure construction and flight services.

According to the industry on the 4th, Hanwha Systems announced a paid-in capital increase worth 1.2 trillion KRW on the 29th of last month, of which 450 billion KRW will be invested in the air mobility business. Hanwha Aerospace and H Solutions, the largest and second-largest shareholders of Hanwha Systems, respectively, are participating in this capital increase.

Hanwha Systems plans to invest 450 billion KRW in UAM technology development, including 250 billion KRW earmarked for equity investments, signaling a large-scale M&A. This has strengthened expectations that Hanwha Systems will soon acquire an overseas company possessing core air taxi technologies.

Since 2019, Hanwha Systems has been developing the air mobility aircraft "Butterfly" in collaboration with the US-based Overair. In the first half of this year, they plan to test the core of aircraft development, the "electric propulsion system," in the US. The goal is to complete aircraft development by 2024 and start pilot services in 2025.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the UAM market is expected to expand to 13 trillion KRW domestically and 730 trillion KRW globally by 2040. The government's roadmap anticipates initial commercialization around 2023-2025, with full-scale market expansion expected after 2030. The government also announced the "Korean Urban Air Mobility (K-UAM) Roadmap" in June last year, aiming for air taxi commercialization by 2025 and planning a large-scale public-private joint demonstration project from 2022 to 2024.

Hanwha Systems and Overair are jointly developing the UAM aircraft 'Butterfly'/Photo by Hanwha Systems

The "Butterfly," developed jointly by Hanwha Systems and Overair, is an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (e-VTOL) equipped with energy-saving flight technology. It uses tiltrotor technology (an aircraft capable of vertical takeoff by tilting its propellers upward) and is evaluated to have a high level of safety and reliability.

The Butterfly tiltrotor has four large rotors mounted on the front and rear wings. During takeoff, the rotors operate vertically, and during flight, they tilt to operate horizontally, enabling long-duration operation with low energy consumption. It can be fast-charged in as little as 10 minutes and has a top speed of 320 km/h, allowing it to cover the distance from Seoul to Incheon in about 20 minutes. It can carry a total of five people, including one pilot and four passengers.

Hanwha Systems plans to expand its business scope beyond aircraft development to infrastructure and flight services. They are also considering building a "VertiHub," a higher-level concept of the air taxi boarding platform "Vertiport," at Gimpo Airport in collaboration with Korea Airports Corporation. A Hanwha Systems official said, "We plan to participate in all business areas as a UAM solution provider, not only in infrastructure but also in aviation services that safely connect aircraft and passengers."