The ePlane Company, an IIT Madras-incubated startup focused on electric vertical take-off and landing (e-VTOL) technology, is gearing up to begin manned trials of its aircraft by April 2025. The company has been developing these e-VTOL vehicles, which are designed to carry passengers, over the last few years.
According to Professor Satya Chakravarthy, the startup’s CEO, the first manned prototype is expected to be completed by April next year. He further revealed that additional prototypes would follow in quick succession, with the second version planned for September 2025 and the third by December of the same year.
Currently, the company is in the process of obtaining the necessary approvals from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to conduct the trials. The Ministry introduced specialized requirements in September 2024 that e-VTOL aircraft must meet to receive type certification (TC), which ensures the airworthiness of the aircraft and its components.
“We applied for the type certification previously, and we are now reapplying under the new vertical take-off and landing aircraft regulations,” Chakravarthy explained. The startup is also pursuing propeller certification under European Air Safety Agency (EASA) regulations, and it is working toward acrobat certification as well.
In 2022, ePlane Company secured $5 million in pre-series A funding, led by investors such as Speciale Invest and Micelio. The startup is currently seeking additional funding to support product development and meet various regulatory requirements, including approvals from the DGCA and EASA.
In addition to leading ePlane, Chakravarthy is a co-founder of several other deep-tech startups incubated at IIT Madras, including Agnikul Cosmos (a space tech company), Aerostrovilos Energy (which focuses on micro gas turbines), TuTr Hyperloop (dedicated to hyperloop technologies), and X2Fuels (working on thermochemical processes).