Archer partners with Honeywell for electric aircraft technology
Honeywell Aerospace will supply Santa Clara-based Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR) with flight control actuation and thermal management technologies in an agreement announced this week.
Honeywell’s (NASDAQ: HON) actuation technology is vital for Archer’s 12 tilt 6 configuration, and the company’s cabin-cooling technology will “provide a best-in-class in-cabin experience,” Archer stated in an announcement.
Archer selected Honeywell’s actuators for safety benefits and because of it can accommodate precise navigation with hundreds of micro-adjustments and commands, important for eVTOL, or electric vertical takeoff and landing, aircraft that operate in dense urban environments. Honeywell’s MicroVCS thermal management system has “lower weight, higher efficiency, and higher reliability” than other conventional systems of the same size and power class, Archer said.
“Honeywell’s position as an established leader in delivering advanced aerospace technologies will be critical to our delivering on our goal of certifying our production aircraft by 2024,” said Archer CEO Adam Goldstein in the release.
Honeywell Aerospace, which is based in Phoenix, is a leader in eVTOL technology and has been making actuation and thermal management systems for over 60 years. Silicon Valley startup Archer’s goal is to create sustainable aircrafts with eVTOL technology for urban environments.
“We’re committed to making Urban Air Mobility an everyday form of travel, and Archer’s aircraft will help bring that vision to life,” said Stéphane Fymat, vice president and general manager of Urban Air Mobility and Unmanned Aerial Systems at Honeywell Aerospace, in a statement.
Mesa Air Group and United Airlines announced last year they would work together to invest a total of $1 billion into Archer as part of an effort to decarbonize air travel.