Sustainable Solar Powered ‘Vertiport’ Will Feature Air Taxis To Boost Eco Tourism

At the break of the 2000s, we all believe that the Jetsons age is near. Yet, no one really thought about where all those flying cars will land to pick us up.

Hoping to solve the problem, Chinese air mobility company EHang revealed plans for a “vertiport” called Baobab, designed in Italy by Giancarlo Zema Design Group (GZDG).

Yanko Design reports that Baobab is planned as an innovative eco-friendly landing pad that produces solar energy to recharge the taxi drones wirelessly.

“Baobab is a vertiport designed with the intention of boosting the eco-tourism industry – air taxis will pick passengers up at the tower and take them on sightseeing tours of the surrounding countryside. While the exact location for this project is yet to be announced, the EHang is already working on additional structures for Europe and Southeast Asia.”

EHang is also developing an eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) drone with the ability to pick up one or two passengers and fly them autonomously to their destination.

The company has already delivered 40 functioning air taxis to customers for testing, training, and demonstration.

The vertiport itself is inspired by the African baobab tree. The 30-meter tower made of steel and laminated wood will have a 360-degree view of the surroundings.

The tower will use several solar panels to generate over 300 kW of power per day while the drones will recharge wirelessly from the landing pads.