Investments by Fapesp, Embraer and ITA in engineering research centers amount to approximately R$ 48 million

The company Embraer, ITA (Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica) and Fapesp (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) declared the validation of shared investments of approximately R$ 48 million over the next five years in a CPE (between of Engineering Research) for the air mobility of the future.

According to Embraer, the exclusive research in Brazil will bring together representatives of the scientific community and also professionals from the airline industry in actions based on three bases: autonomous systems, low-carbon aviation and advanced manufacturing.

The idea of ​​the new engineering research center project, sponsored by Embraer, ITA and FAPESP, creates a comfortable climate for spreading knowledge, training highly qualified human resources and producing scientific publications with great impact on the community.

“We are very happy with the validation of the Engineering Research Center focused on the aeronautical mobility of the future, with partners such as ITA and Fapesp”, says Embraer's Vice President of Engineering, Technological Development and Corporate Strategy, Luís Carlos Affonso.

In the opinion of the president of FAPESP, Marco Antonio Zago, the partnership with ITA and Embraer can offer answers to one of the major points to be unraveled by research in future years, the transition to a low-carbon economy associated with advanced manufacturing.

Embraer and ITA are leaders in urban air mobility studies

The new Engineering Research Center, sponsored by Embraer, ITA and FAPESP, will focus on the development of urban aeronautical mobility. In the past months, the investing institutions, ITA, Embraer and FAPESP, have jointly outlined the objective of the research that will be carried out at the engineering research center and the main actions to officially sign their partnership that proposes innovative technology solutions that will improve the competitiveness of the global innovation ecosystem.

“This project is unique to this model and will increase the execution of human resources in specific areas, for Embraer, the FAB and the area's production chain. Furthermore, it will provide worldwide integration to meet the challenges of future aeronautical mobility”, said Professor Anderson Correia, rector of ITA.

Brazil is among the main countries in leadership in the studies of new alternatives for air mobility and also for the aviation decarbonization. The engineering research center initiative will keep the country at the forefront of upcoming technologies.

Flying taxi project should start operating in 2026 in Rio

In addition to the project for the new engineering research center that is being sponsored by Embraer, ITA and FAPESP, Embraer also has some other projects related to aeronautics. In 2021, his company specializing in urban air mobility, EVE, began testing passengers in its flying vehicle, where a journey was made between Galeão airport and Barra da Tijuca, in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Currently, the company has announced that the route mentioned above will start circulating commercially in the year 2026.

Embraer's project, which is being called a “flying car”, is actually a car that transports passengers, like a helicopter. The glaring difference between them, according to the company Embraer, will be the cost of the ticket, which, for the flying car, should equal the cost of a taxi ride, about six times less than a helicopter ride.

In the year 2021, the passage of eVTOL (electric aircraft takeoff and vertical landing) was priced at around R$99 reais. However, the amount to be charged by the company in 2026, when the car becomes popularly common, is still uncertain.

Another characteristic that makes the helicopter eVTOL different is the noise produced by its operation. According to the president of EVE, André Stein, the noise that the “flying car” makes is 90% less than the noise that a helicopter makes, due to the distributed propulsion. In other words, the take-off and landing of the futuristic car is made from eight rotors, which are deactivated when taking off, when two other rotors propel the plane forward. Furthermore, another fact that explains the lower incidence of vehicle noise is the use of an electric motor, instead of fuel originating from the oil.