REGENT Advances the Future of Coastal Transportation in Abu Dhabi
April 25 2024 - 11:34AM
REGENT Craft, the manufacturer of all-electric seagliders,
announced today two new collaborations in Abu Dhabi to advance
sustainable maritime transportation. The company signed MOUs with
Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and the Department of
Municipalities and Transportation (DOT) today at DriftX, an
international showcase of advanced and sustainable urban mobility
held in Abu Dhabi.
Localized Development and Manufacturing
REGENT and ADIO together
announced a collaboration to support REGENT’s seaglider development
and manufacturing capabilities at Abu Dhabi’s Smart and Autonomous
Vehicle Industry (SAVI) cluster. The move is a key step in REGENT’s
global expansion to serve its order book of over $9 billion all
over the world with the promise of drastically reducing the time
and cost of moving people and goods between coastal
cities.
REGENT is excited about
the opportunity to leverage the SAVI cluster’s state-of-the-art
facilities, services and enabling regulatory ecosystem, and is
thrilled to work with ADIO to solicit the local support and
investment required to expand its global operations in UAE,
including workforce development, supply chain, integration and
seaglider delivery infrastructure. In the current vision, REGENT is
targeting a pilot operational campaign in the next few years, with
plans for localized manufacturing by end of decade.
Seaglider
Service to Ignite Economic Growth
REGENT also inked an
agreement with the Abu Dhabi DOT to integrate seaglider service
into the existing UAE transportation network, with a focus on high
impact routes such as offshore service to Dalma Island and Sir
Baniyas Island. Seagliders could also unlock new connectivity
between Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah, expanding economic
opportunities and growth in the Emirates.
Built to the same safety
standards as modern aircraft and watercraft, the seagliders will
service routes up to 180 miles (300 km) with existing battery
technology, with the potential to serve routes of up to 500 miles
(800 km) once next-generation batteries become available, all using
existing dock infrastructure. Their zero-emission operations will
provide residents and travelers with a more flexible,
cost-effective, and greener alternative to existing,
non-sustainable transit options.
Badr
Al-Olama, Director General of Abu Dhabi Investment
Office (ADIO), said: “Abu Dhabi is deploying innovation at
scale through its pioneering Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industry
cluster and we’re proud to welcome REGENT to Abu Dhabi to shape the
future of coastal transportation. With immense speed and
efficiency, I’m confident Abu Dhabi will see the global deployment
of electric seagliders, and these will dramatically change how
goods and people move between the world’s coastal areas going
forward. As a leading hub for the development of future industries,
we are excited to stand at the very forefront of a new wave of
disruptive change in mobility that is set to create tremendous
opportunities for businesses over the next few decades. We look
forward to supporting REGENT as we work through the details over
the coming months to make our shared goal of localized seaglider
operations and manufacturing a reality.”
Billy Thalheimer,
co-founder and CEO of REGENT, said: “Abu Dhabi’s SAVI
cluster represents an extraordinary opportunity for our company to
simultaneously support our global expansion and fulfill the strong
demand of our customers already in the region. With our growing
backlog of $9B in seaglider orders rapidly spreading throughout the
Gulf, the Red Sea, Indo-Pacific and Europe, we need a way to
effectively manufacture and deliver seagliders across the Eastern
Hemisphere. We have been thrilled by the dedicated and rapid
support of ADIO, together with our existing investor EDGE’s SDF, as
we work collaboratively to build a REGENT hub in Abu
Dhabi.”
About
REGENT
REGENT is pioneering the
future of sustainable maritime mobility through the development and
manufacturing of all-electric seagliders. Seagliders are a new
category of vehicle that combine the speed of an aircraft with the
convenience of a boat to deliver an affordable and efficient mode
of transportation between coastal destinations. REGENT’s flagship
seaglider, Viceroy, is a 12-passenger vehicle that travels at
180mph to service routes up to 180 miles on a single charge. REGENT
has already secured more than 600 seaglider orders valued at more
than $9 billion from leading airline and ferry operators around the
world and has raised more than $90 million from investors including
8090 Industries, Founders Fund, Japan Airlines, and Lockheed
Martin. To learn more, visit www.regentcraft.com.
- REGENT Signs MOU with Abu Dhabi Department of
Transportation
- REGENT Signs MOU with Abu Dhabi Investment Office
Lauren Rugani
REGENT
media@regentcraft.com