Revolutionary Air Taxi Facility Launched in Chennai

Chennai's deep-tech startup, The ePlane Company, unveiled its state-of-the-art electric air taxi testing facility at the IIT Madras Discovery Campus, Thaiyur. This expansive center brings together design, prototyping, integration, and subsystem testing units under one roof.

Spanning 60,000 square feet, this is India's pioneering integrated plant for electric aircraft, focusing on engineering hubs that cater to passenger, relief, and cargo eVTOLs. Key features of the facility include composite fabrication, electric powertrain assembly, avionics testing, and a dedicated ground test vehicle site to support subsystem evaluation and full-scale advancements.

The ePlane Company is progressing on creating India's inaugural electric air taxi, the e200X. Founder Satya Chakravarthy notes that this facility is crucial for their commercial growth, envisioning air travel to be as accessible and affordable as regular taxi rides. The site is key to achieving milestones like tethered hover tests as the firm moves towards securing type certification.