New research with senior private equity and venture capital professionals reveals 71% expect there to be more than 160,000 commercial air taxis operating around the world by 2050.    Some 17% anticipate there will be over 200,000.

The research was commissioned by Horizon Aircraft, the advanced aerospace engineering company that has developed the Cavorite X5, the world’s first eVTOL (Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing) that can fly the majority of its mission exactly like a normal aircraft.

The findings also reveal that in 30 years’ time, 36% of private equity and venture capital professionals interviewed said they expect the urban air mobility market to generate revenues of around $90 billion a year, but 46% believe it will be more than this.

Brandon Robinson, CEO and Co-Founder of Horizon Aircraft said: “At the end of 2020, the renowned global consultancy firm Roland Berger published a report claiming the urban air mobility market will have around 160,000 commercial air taxis by 2050, and the sector will be generating around $90 billion a year in revenue.  These are lofty estimates, but our research suggests many professional investors believe the market could be even bigger than this. This is probably being fuelled by a stream of exciting news coming out of the sector, including Astro Aerospace’s recent announcement to acquire us.

“However, investors should be warned that there are over 400 eVTOL concepts around the world being developed, and the vast majority of these will never become commercially viable.  They either won’t meet the requirements needed to secure insurance, or because of their design and operational costs and challenges, they may be too expensive to run.” 

On 18th February 2021, Astro Aerospace (OTCQB: ASDND), a global leader in eVTOL aerial vehicles and drones, entered a binding agreement to acquire Horizon Aircraft Inc. The transaction is expected to close on or before the beginning of 2nd Quarter pending customary closing conditions.

Astro, a pioneer in the eVTOL market, has developed one of the market’s safest and most efficient eVTOLs in the world. In 2018, the Company’s drone, ‘Elroy’, was one of the first to seamlessly fly with humans on board. Astro continually defies traditional aviation design, and the acquisition of Horizon will only push the Company further, with the ability to reach greater heights working in tandem with Horizon’s exceptional team.

Visit www.horizonaircraft.com  and www.flyastro.com for more information.

One of the UK’s leading engineering and construction companies – ENGIE Fabricom - has announced the appointment of two new Chief Officers; Chief Executive Officer, Simon Rafferty and Chief Operating Officer, Peter Clouston.

Both join the business having successfully held a number of board positions across the globe and with vast experience across a number of business functions.

Simon joins ENGIE Fabricom having successfully led the Canadian division of the business in the same capacity and with over 15 years’ experience in the engineering and construction marketplace. He brings to ENGIE Fabricom a wealth of experience having ran a diverse range of business functions from sales and business development to project management and contract negotiations.  In his role as Canadian CEO Simon has successfully led numerous major projects focusing on staff engagement and operational efficiencies.    

Motor Current Monitoring is increasingly being understood as just another form of Vibration Analysis – but one that can also cover electrical faults and energy consumption. 

The purpose of Condition Monitoring is to detect developing faults before the machine fails catastrophically, avoiding unexpected breakdowns and allowing maintenance work to be planned efficiently at a time of minimal disruption to operations.

Many techniques are available – and should be selected to detect the type of faults relevant to the particular machine, so there is no single universal panacea.  Techniques that can detect a wider range of faults can obviously be applied more widely – and one of those with the widest range is the Model-Based Voltage and Current (MBVI) technique, as used by Faraday Predictive.

Schaeffler OPTIME condition monitoring solution has prevented unplanned downtime in the supply systems at the Schaeffler production plant in Schweinfurt, Germany, resulting in cost savings in the five-figure range.

The Challenge

At the Schaeffler plant in Schweinfurt, rotating machines are used in a hardening shop around the clock, as well as various supply systems. The hardening shop comprises of six separate hardening lines that process around 130 tonnes per day. Three of these lines are now monitored using OPTIME. 31 OPTIME sensors are installed on circulating air fans (2.2 to 10kW) that run at fixed and regulated speeds of 950-1500rpm. The temperature can reach as high as 200°C.

Brady Corporation can design the optimal RFID labelling solution for asset tracking and inventory management that can fit any surface. Customisation options include select antennas, chips, optional sensors, label materials, adhesives and prints. Brady specialists are ready to assist you in finding the right combination of RFID products to solve your identification need.

Novosound, a leading ultrasonic company based in Scotland, has overcome competition from some of the biggest organisations in the world to win its first international honour at the 2021 Materials Performance Corrosion Innovation of the Year Awards.

Organised by the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP), Novosound received the award in the Testing category for its revolutionary Belenus ultrasound sensor, which provides corrosion monitoring across a variety of structures and environments in a range of industries.

The awards are organised by Materials Performance, which is published by NACE International and is the world’s largest circulation magazine dedicated exclusively to corrosion prevention and control.

Will remote maintenance outlive social distancing guidelines?

The UK Government’s roadmap out of lockdown suggests that strict social distancing measures will be in place until summer. However, businesses that have implemented remote monitoring, access and control during the pandemic, could enjoy the benefits for years to come. Here, Andy Conway, sales manager of embedded solutions provider, Recab UK, explains how smart routers could help ensure reliable and secure communication long into the future.

During 2020, many businesses were forced to carry out maintenance checks remotely, due to social distancing laws and work from home policies. However, there are other advantages to remote monitoring and control technology, on top of the engineer’s safety and convenience. In fact, two common benefits are reduced time and cost, as configuration, maintenance and updates for plant equipment located at a distance often involves travel and multiple calls for diagnostics, on the part of the technician. In the event of a breakdown, the equipment owner not only has to take the technician’s time into account, but also the cost of the unscheduled downtime. This can be added to by the cost of wasted trips for misdiagnosed issues and the costs of provision for the right, or wrong, parts in the needed locations.

Sam Burgess, CEO, SamsonVT

The deployment of condition monitoring is expected to grow strongly over the next few years. As a key enabler of predictive maintenance, it will be crucial to the reduction of maintenance costs.

Knowing when a piece machinery is going to fail can have huge financial implications. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that a predictive approach can be up to 40% more cost effective than reactive maintenance.

Watermark Projects (part of leading engineering services company, W.A Cooke & Sons) has introduced a Landia mixing system to help handle wastewater at an expanding organic poultry producer in South Wales.

Prior to the effluent being treated by Watermark Projects’ bespoke DAF (Dissolved Air Flotation) as part of their design and build service, Landia’s AirJet will keep the balance tank aerated, ensuring that solids are kept in suspension.

A new order from Future Biogas is set to bring the total number of Borger pumps and separators at its AD/Biogas plants to over 20.

At the forefront of the anaerobic digestion industry, acclaimed AD developer and operator Future Biogas invested in its first Borger pump back in 2015 for its site near Swaffham – seeking an alternative solution to its existing pumps that were proving time-consuming and costly to maintain. Since then, the full-service company, who additionally provide construction, compliance and asset management, has also begun introducing Borger’s Bioselect RC Separators.