Embraer announced the formation of a new subsidiary called Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions that will oversee all aspects of the Eve eVTOL aircraft program.
Eve Urban Air Mobility was launched in 2017 as a start-up under the EmbraerX technology incubator unit of Brazilian aerospace group Embraer is making plans for its first eVTOL aircraft. In April 2017, Embraer was announced as a partner by Uber for its planned Uber Air ride-share program. However, this partnership was nullified in December of 2020 when Uber Elevate was acquired by Joby Aviation.
As of August 2020, it had provided almost no information about this program, beyond showing a design for what is expected to be a four-seat, all-electric vehicle. This showed eight propellers attached to what appeared to be four beams connected to a pair of narrow, parallel wings protruding from the top of the fuselage, presumably to provide vertical lift. At the rear of the aircraft, there is a pair of ducted fans for cruise flight.
On July 27, 2020, the company filed a U.S. trademark application for a product called Eve by EmbraerX. The application described this as "an electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle that can transport people." Previously, the company had used the working title of DreamMaker for the program and, during 2019, appeared to be holding a competition to come up with an alternative name.
During the same month, Embraer also reported that it had begun using a flight simulator to evaluate flight control parameters and control laws for the aircraft, which it refers to as the Electric Vertical Aircraft (EVA).
EmbraerX has been working with air traffic control providers, pilots, and other experts to devise plans for urban airspace management that also involve its Atech subsidiary.
It would appear that EmbraerX's eVTOL ambitions have survived the recent budget cuts enforced in the wake of Boeing's decision to walk away from a long-planned merger with Embraer. This was confirmed in October 2020, when Embraer announced the formation of a new subsidiary called Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, which will oversee all aspects of the program.
As of December 1, 2020, Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions announced its upcoming partnership with Airservices Australia, and developed a new concept of operations (ConOps) for their air taxi market. Eve and Airservices intend to continue their partnered development of Urban Air Traffic Management solutions. The Australian government-owned organization will utilize its existing simulation technology to better understand how air taxis can be integrated into Melbourne airspace. While exact timetables are yet unknown for the aircraft, Eve hopes to see flights in Melbourne as early as 2023, expanding to fit the ConOps to other locales if proven successful.
On a July 15, 2021 announcement, Eve stated it is working with energy group EDP to develop electrical charging infrastructure to support eVTOL aircraft operations. Under the July memorandum of understanding, the two companies can conduct research on topics including battery technology, charging systems, management of charging points, and payment methods.
Also in July, 2021, Eve announced an agreement with Latin American charter booker Flapper under which it plans to provide up to 25,000 flight yours in its eVTOL aircraft. The manufacturer has previously announced similar service provision commitments with U.S-based charter platform Blade. It also holds aircraft purchase commitments from ridesharing service Halo and Helisul Aviation.
On December 21, 2021, Eve announced plans to merge with special purpose acquisition company Zanite Acquisition and list on the New York Stock Exchange in the second quarter of 2022. Embraer will remain the majority shareholder in a company that will trade as Eve Holding.