Joby and Clay Lacy bringing eVTOL charger to Southern California

Joby has signed an agreement with Clay Lacy Aviation to install what it says is Southern California’s first eVTOL charger at John Wayne Airport.

The charger’s installation comes as part of Clay Lacy’s planned $100m redevelopment of its FBO terminal at John Wayne, with completion set for mid-2025. It will support Joby’s Global Electric Aviation Charging System (GEACS) which is already in use at the OEM’s flight test centre in Marina, California and Edwards Air Force Base where Joby recently delivered its first aircraft. The charger will act as a node in Joby’s Southern California air taxi network.

JoeBen Bevirt founder and CEO of Joby said: “The charging technology we have developed is optimized to support our whole industry, from air taxis delivering short range city flights to more conventional electric aircraft flying longer distances. Joby made the specifications for the universal charging interface freely available to the wider industry in November 2023, to help accelerate the transition to clean flight. We’re therefore very pleased to see it being adopted in this key market.”

Clay Lacy’s all-new FBO development at John Wayne Airport is expected to be the first in the world to be Gold-certified by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

Scott Cutshall SVP Strategy and Sustainability at Clay Lacy Aviation added: “Since our founding more than 50 years ago, Clay Lacy has been committed to improving lives for our community, employees, and clients; leading the industry on safety and service while taking action to reduce emissions in both our ground and air operations. We’re excited to be working with Joby to install Southern California’s first air taxi charger and we look forward to the greater convenience it will bring to the Orange County community without additional noise or emissions.”