Archer has closed agreements with Synovus Bank and Evans General Contractors for at least $65 million in financing of its high-volume eVTOL aircraft manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia.
An announcement made today (Wednesday) says the amount represents a substantial majority of the cost of construction for the first phase. Construction is already under way on the 350,000 sq.ft site, which will support the production of up to 650 aircraft per year and would make it the world’s largest eVTOL aircraft manufacturing facility by volume.
Phase one is on target to be completed in 2024, ahead of Archer’s Midnight aircraft’s planned entry into service in 2025. Phase two then provides the capability to expand the site to about 900,000 sq.ft to support long-term production targets of more than 2,000 aircraft per year.
Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO, said: “The ability to manufacture eVTOL aircraft at scale is critical to building a successful business in this industry and Archer continues to maintain a significant lead on this front. Today, we’re taking another major step forward on our manufacturing buildout by securing a design-build agreement and financing agreement for the world’s first, and largest by volume, eVTOL manufacturing facility.
“Consistent with our capital efficient strategy of getting to commercialisation, we’ve achieved attractive terms on the project. These agreements, along with our already strong partnership with Stellantis, give us the flexibility to ramp up our capacity and become the leading scale manufacturer of eVTOL aircraft in the world.”
Archer remains on track with manufacturing facility construction, which began in March 2023, by closing previously announced financing. The company says its strategy of leveraging top tier aerospace suppliers for a majority of Midnight’s aircraft components streamlines the manufacturing processes, enabling a capital efficient facility that is set to achieve high volumes of output.
Archer’s goal is to transform urban travel, replacing 60–90 minute commutes by car, with estimated 10–20 minute electric aircraft flights that are safe, sustainable, low noise and cost competitive with ground transportation. Archer’s Midnight is a piloted, four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time in between flights.
Archer’s Midnight aircraft will be manufactured at the company’s high-volume manufacturing facility in Covington, before being deployed to different customers and markets in the U.S. and abroad.
Pictures from left to right: A rendering of Archer’s Covington facility, and the site at the moment as work continues to build the 350,000 sq.ft site. Credit: Archer Aviation.
