Vertical Aerospace Gets $10 Mln Grant From UK Government To Develop Next-Gen Propeller

(RTTNews) - Vertical Aerospace (EVTL) announced Tuesday that it has been awarded 8 million pounds or $10 million in grant funding by the UK Government, through the Aerospace Technology Institute or ATI Programme. The grant is to develop its next-generation propellers for use on its VX4 aircraft.

The total investment into the propeller project is almost 20 million, with Vertical having been awarded over 8 million, representing a contribution of 50% of Vertical's eligible development costs.

A further 3.5 million will be awarded to the other consortium members.

The consortium, led by Vertical, includes academic institutions such as the University of Glasgow, the University of Bristol and Cranfield University, and the UK's helicopter monitoring specialists, Helitune.

The specific project will bring together the UK's experts and technical partners to further develop Vertical's eVTOL propellor technology and propulsion system. The final technology will be lower in weight, inertia and noise than their existing propellers. It will be delivered to a higher safety standard than any model currently on the market.

The propeller project is the third awarded to the aerospace and technology company by the ATI Programme. With this, the total UK Government grant funding has reached to 37 million pounds or $47 million.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Founder and CEO of Vertical Aerospace, said, "With the support of the ATI Programme and our consortium partners, this project will keep the UK and Vertical at the forefront of aerospace innovation, electric aviation, and urban air mobility."

Fitzpatrick recently has committed to invest a further $50 million into the business to support the continued development of the aircraft programme. Vertical's announcements over the last month deliver approximately $60 million in additional committed funding.