Archer Aviation Inc. has closed agreements with Synovus Bank and Evans General Contractors, LLC for the financing and development of its high-volume manufacturing facility.
Construction is underway on the first phase of the Covington, Georgia facility build of approx. 350,000 square feet to support production of up to 650 Midnight aircraft per year, which the company states would make it the world’s largest eVTOL aircraft manufacturing facility by volume.
Archer expects to produce the highest volume of eVTOL aircraft while bearing a dramatically lower manufacturing capital cost than projects announced by competitors in the industry, due to the $65 million in financing from the agreements.
As a result, the company’s strategy of creating the most capital efficient path to scaled manufacturing is advancing. This development is also possible due to Archer partnering with top tier aerospace suppliers, like Honeywell and Safran, for a majority of Midnight’s components. This streamlines the manufacturing and assembly process dramatically for a facility that is set to achieve high output.
Phase one of the facility build is set to be completed in 2024, ahead of the aircraft’s planned entry into service in 2025. Phase two will expand the operation to approximately 900,000 square feet to support long-term production targets of over 2,000 aircraft per year.
Archer’s goal is to transform urban travel, replacing 60-90 minute commutes by car, with estimated 10-20 minute electric aircraft flights that are safe, sustainable, low noise and cost competitive with ground transportation.
Archer’s Midnight is a piloted, four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time in between flights. Archer’s Midnight aircraft will be manufactured at the company’s high-volume manufacturing facility in Covington, GA before being deployed to different customers and markets in the U.S. and abroad.
Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO, said; “The ability to manufacture eVTOL aircraft at scale is critical to building a successful business in this industry and Archer continues to maintain a significant lead on this front. Today, we’re taking another major step forward on our manufacturing buildout by securing a design-build agreement and financing agreement for the world’s first, and largest by volume, eVTOL manufacturing facility.
“Consistent with our capital efficient strategy of getting to commercialization, we’ve achieved attractive terms on the project. These agreements, along with our already strong partnership with Stellantis, give us the flexibility to ramp up our capacity and become the leading scale manufacturer of eVTOL aircraft in the world.”
