Advanced Air Mobility with Enormous Potential, but Italy Lacks Public Resources

Published by:By DronItaly
Dronitaly expo 2024

Memorandum of Understanding signed between ENAC and the Korea Institute of Aviation Safety Technology (KIAST) for international cooperation in regulation. Politecnico di Milano: over 500 drone use cases in the AAM sector worldwide. Mayor of Varese, Galimberti: “Our vertiport will benefit environmental sustainability, promote the region, foster innovation, and provide social utility.” EHang: “Italy is a perfect market for our solutions.” 

October 9, 2024 - The drone market is still in its infancy, but its potential is limitless, with Italy at the center of attention for major international companies in the sector. This makes it necessary to push for efficient regulation and the development of new technologies. Investment should focus on infrastructure such as vertiports, U-space for traffic management, safety, and social acceptance. 

The challenges are many, starting with the fact that Italy offers limited public funding for the sector and its companies, far less than in other EU countries. 

These points were the key takeaways from the first day of Dronitaly, which this year focuses on innovation and research. The goal: to make Dronitaly a national and international hub for exchanging best practices and rapidly developing the sector with maximum efficiency. The event will conclude on Friday, October 11. 

Regulation and Law for a Safe Ecosystem 

Benedetta Fiorini, Member of ENAC's Board of Directors, emphasized the need for a gradual approach to implement new air mobility services, to build a sustainable future and a smart mobility system that integrates different modes of transport. 

"We are creating a safe ecosystem capable of integrating services for the regions and citizens, fully aligned with the EU's mobility strategy on technological, digital, and environmental sustainability," Fiorini said. 

In this context, ENAC and its counterpart from South Korea, the Korea Institute of Aviation Safety Technology (KIAST), signed a Memorandum of Understanding during Dronitaly as part of international cooperation efforts, with ENAC playing a leading role in similar agreements with other countries. 

"What awaits us, not only in Italy but worldwide, is a challenge in which ENAC is recognized as an international excellence, facilitating innovation, protecting rights, and ensuring the necessary levels of safety for these new operational scenarios, which will become a reality in the near future," Fiorini concluded. 

Public Funding: Italy Lags Behind 

In the first roundtable, public funding was discussed. Nicola Nizzoli, President of Assorpas, highlighted how Europe is investing heavily in the sector. Other EU member states have received significant investments, particularly for Advanced Air Mobility. In contrast, Nizzoli said, Italy has been slow to get off the ground in this regard. 

"As Assorpas and members of JEDA, we are always present at ENAC and EASA technical tables, striving to support and protect all players in the Italian unmanned sector", Nizzoli added. 

The Role of U-space 

Another key topic was the importance of "corridors" for advancing a truly innovative and safe drone transport world. The global drone market has seen impressive growth in recent years, revolutionizing sectors like agriculture, logistics, and security with the support of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and automation. 

The Politecnico di Milano's Observatory on Drones and Advanced Air Mobility, which has been mapping applications of Innovative Air Mobility since 2019, identified over 500 use cases worldwide, with more than half focused on cargo transport and about 23% on passenger transport. Paola Olivares, the director of the observatory, highlighted that in cargo transport, the general goods and healthcare sectors are almost on par, with the latter seeing strong growth and set to drive future development. 

"In this context - said Alberto Iovino, Head of Operational Support and Innovative Air Mobility Management at Enav, - traffic management becomes a crucial challenge, requiring scalable and innovative solutions to prevent congestion and ensure safety in airspace shared by both traditional aircraft and drones. The European regulatory path has paved the way for U-space, a set of services and procedures designed to manage an automated, safe, sustainable, and efficient operational concept, creating an infrastructure system that allows for the safe and sustainable integration of drones into airspace", Iovino emphasized. 

Vertiports, Intermodality, and Varese as an Example of Excellence 

The first day of Dronitaly also saw the presence of Varese Mayor Davide Galimberti. The city of Varese has long been engaged in discussions with other entities to enhance connectivity with surrounding areas, including through new air mobility. The current vertiport project under study is a zero-emission infrastructure located in the city center near the stations, aiming to strengthen rapid connections between Malpensa Airport, the Canton of 

Ticino, and the Milan metropolitan area. The project envisions an intermediate station for drone taxis, transporting both people and goods. 

The project follows a memorandum of understanding signed by the Municipality of Varese, Gruppo FS Italiane, and FS Sistemi Urbani for "an important initiative in terms of tourism, especially considering the major events that our city increasingly hosts, but also from a social perspective, as evidenced by the agreement between the Municipality, SEA Airports of Milan, and ASST Sette Laghi to develop a drone-based transportation system for certain types of medications. This will bring benefits in terms of environmental sustainability, regional promotion, innovation, and social utility", Galimberti stressed. 

National and International Companies Shine at Dronitaly 

Many leading national and international companies in the sector were present on the first day of the event, such as EHang, which chose Dronitaly to present its latest model of autonomous electric passenger drone for the first time in Italy. 

"We are the world leader in UAM, offering a broad portfolio of autonomous aerial vehicles for mobility use cases. Our vision is to make lower airspace accessible to everyone in a convenient and sustainable way. Our flagship model, the EH216-S, has obtained the world's first type certificate for a pilotless passenger transport eVTOL aircraft, issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration. We are convinced that Italy is a perfect market for our solutions, and we are excited to showcase them to all Dronitaly visitors," commented Andreas Perotti, CMO Europe, EHang. 

During the event, Assorpas, the Politecnico di Milano, and some associated Italian companies held a meeting with Korean companies participating in the Korean Pavilion. The initiative aimed to foster dialogue between Italy and foreign countries. 

Dronitaly is being held in conjunction with the events Fueling Tomorrow (focused on the transformation of fuels and the use of new energy carriers in the transport and industrial sectors in the context of ecological transition), SAIE (related to the construction sector), and Asphaltica (dedicated to the road construction sector). All of these events attract an audience potentially interested in the use of remotely piloted systems for their activities. 

Leonardo is the event's Event Partner. Platinum Sponsors: Bluenest, EHang, eVertisky, and Polis Consulting. Gold Sponsors: Abzero, Aiviewgroup, d-flight, Rina, Smartko, and Solapave. 

------- 

BFWE is a joint venture founded in 2021 by BolognaFiere and Mirumir with the aim of developing a business project that contributes to the knowledge and sharing of issues related to the economic and social value of water, energy, and new technological applications. The events managed by BFWE are: 

ACCADUEO, an international event that has been the benchmark for the water sector at both national and international levels for over 30 years (https://www.accadueo.com). In even-numbered years, it takes place in Bari; in odd-numbered years, in Bologna. 

Fueling Tomorrow, an event dedicated to the transformation of fuels and the use of new energy carriers in the transport and industrial sectors (https://www.fuelingtomorrow.it). 

Dronitaly, an event focused on the professional civil drone sector (https://www.dronitaly.it). 

For more information:
BFWE Press Office: Elena Veronelli // ufficiostampa@mirumir.it // https://www.bfwe.it/ Images available: https://www.bfwe.it/mirumir/download/downloader.php?id=541 

Was this article helpful?