VerdeGo Aero has announced that it is teaming with Transcend Air to apply VerdeGo's IDEP (Integrated Distributed Electric Propulsion) systems to future versions of Transcend's Vy 400 aircraft. This will allow Transcend Air to take advantage of developing electric power options, while also benefiting from already-available, traditional turbine power plants.

VerdeGo Aero's IDEP systems are a modular set of battery-electric and hybrid-electric propulsion components that are under development to support a wide array of VTOL aircraft and mission profiles. Transcend's Vy 400 is a VTOL aircraft optimized for fast, inexpensive, city-to-city transportation. Fitting the Vy 400 with IDEP propulsion in the future will enable both increased efficiency and sustainability for the Vy aircraft family.

"VerdeGo Aero's IDEP systems enable forward-thinking aircraft manufacturers such as Transcend Air to apply electric propulsion options to high-performance VTOL aircraft. Transcend Air's adoption of our first generation hybrid IDEP platform will smooth the path to a fully battery electric VTOL solution, once those options become viable," said Eric Bartsch, Chief Operating Officer of VerdeGo Aero.

"Transcend Air is excited to benefit from the world-leading hybrid and electric propulsion expertise on VerdeGo Aero's team as we kick off a joint engineering program to prepare the Vy 400 fleet for future electrification," said Gregory Bruell, Chief Executive Officer of Transcend Air. "The initial turbine-driven variant of the Vy 400 delivers unmatched performance, and the application of VerdeGo Aero's IDEP platforms ensures that we have a clear roadmap of cutting edge variants of the Vy for years to come."

The first-generation hybrid IDEP systems currently under development at VerdeGo Aero can be applied to aircraft for Urban Air Mobility, cargo transportation, military missions, EMS, and longer-range VTOL missions. The hybrid IDEP platform is being engineered to enable seamless upgrades to the second-generation battery IDEP platform when battery cells with sufficient energy density, power density, cycle lifetime, and cost are available for aerospace usage.