Artist representation of a new UPS aircraft.
Source: UPS
United Parcel Service will take package delivery to new heights, literally, with the purchase of 10 electric vertical takeoff and landing planes from Beta Technologies.
In an announcement Wednesday, Atlanta-based UPS said it will test eVTOLs for use on its Express Air delivery network, focusing on small and medium markets. The company will operate the eVTOLs under its Flight Forward division, which is also exploring drone delivery.
The new type of aircraft, which looks like a cross between a plane and a helicopter, “unlocks new business models that don’t exist today,” Bala Ganesh, vice president of the UPS Advanced Technology Group, told CNBC. “For example, you can see a future in which you carry, say 1,000 pounds, 1,500 pounds in rural hospitals” and landing at a heliport instead of an airport.
Vermont-based Beta Technologies will design and build the eVTOLs, which will be delivered to UPS in 2024, pending certification by the Federal Aviation Administration. Beta will also provide landing pad and rechargeable batteries. UPS has the option to buy up to 150 eVTOL more. The price of the transaction was not disclosed. EVTOLs can fly up to 250 miles at 170 mph on a single charge.
“We’ve also thought about some urgent moments, such as ignoring New York traffic and then moving it directly to our 43rd Street building so we can avoid congestion,” Ganesh said. “It will not be suitable for all packages, but for certain use cases: willingness to pay and urgency, we could think about going into these areas.”
EVTOLs would be used similarly to small fixed-wing aircraft with a capacity of 500 to 3,000 pounds. UPS said it initially plans to use them in smaller markets and create a series of short routes or a long route to meet customer needs. According to Ganesh, eVTOLs will have an operating advantage over small aircraft, as they are designed to fit shipping containers, allowing for faster package movement in many cases.
“Smaller aircraft are not normally contained in containers. They do not have any type of container, so a package is loaded on these aircraft, then on their land, and then unloaded loaded on a truck or in a another vehicle and then driving it to another location, it was re-traveled, it was reloaded on the parcel cart that delivers it, ”Ganesh said.
Beta Technologies founder Kyle Clark said his team has worked with UPS to help transform the way the company handles mobile packages.
“We combine simple, elegant design and advanced technology to create a reliable, zero-emission operational aircraft that will revolutionize cargo movement,” Clark said in a statement. “By using vertical takeoffs and landings, we can convert relatively small spaces into existing UPS facilities into a micro-air supply network without the noise or operational emissions of traditional aircraft.”
Sustainability has become increasingly important since Carol Tome became CEO of UPS last June. In its 2020 annual report, UPS said its goal is to reduce its terrestrial business’s greenhouse gases by 12% and get 25% of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2025.
UPS announced in January 2020 a commitment to buy up to 10,000 electric vehicles from Arrival Group, based in London and Charlotte, North Carolina. EVTOL batteries will also be compatible with these vehicles. Even when the first life cycle of batteries on the plane ends, they can still be used in electric vehicles.
“It just creates easier operating models, which makes things easier to deploy and manage as we move forward,” Ganesh said, “creating newer forms of management that give us more flexibility and optimally, reduce our costs. “.