Sometimes the story of how a company was founded is as interesting as what the company is doing. ATM Magazine had the opportunity to meet with Elint Systems during Amsterdam Drone Week. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic when their CEO was looking to start a new venture. They are a drone infrastructure provider who is partnering with EVA, drone infrastructure and operator.
Elint is deploying EVA drone pods that enable the take-off and landing of drones with wireless charging while they are on the ground. The software-based solution can be connected via 5G. Today these landing stations are aimed at smaller drones, although they could evolve to support eVTOL flights.
The larger smart station enables charging of drones along with any other electric powered vehicle or robot and will be deployed along the drone super-highways planned in Nigeria, where Elint is located. Today there are three routes enabled with the goal of six being in use during the May/June timeframe.
Today’s key markets of focus include agricultural, medical delivery and e-commerce delivery. They also offer training to develop certified drone operators and enable new employment opportunities in Nigeria for a growing market. Initially they are focusing on Lagos, but will look to expand within the Lagos Free Trade Zone (LFZ) and then more widely within Nigeria.
Learnings from other regions will be important to understand. As other regions begin to deploy UAM with travel along established helicopter corridors as the first step. It would be helpful to build playbooks to help startups use lessons learned from larger players and markets to grow.
