Archer closes financing to complete eVTOL aircraft manufacturing facility

Archer Aviation Inc., a developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, has closed agreements with Synovus Bank and Evans General Contractors LLC for the financing and development of its high-volume manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia. Construction is already underway on the first phase of the Covington facility build-out of approximately 350,000ft² to support production of up to 650 aircraft per year, which would make it the world’s largest eVTOL aircraft manufacturing facility by volume.

The agreement secures at least $65 million in financing which represents a substantial majority of the cost of construction for the first phase of Archer’s eVTOL manufacturing facility. In conjunction with previously announced incentives from the state of Georgia and Archer’s partnership with Stellantis, this announcement advances the company’s strategy of creating the most capital efficient path to scaled manufacturing. This is also possible due to Archer’s business strategy of partnering with top tier aerospace suppliers, such as Honeywell and Safran, for a majority of Midnight’s components, streamlining the manufacturing and assembly process dramatically while allowing for a facility that is set to achieve high volumes of output.

Phase one of Archer’s high-volume manufacturing facility is on target to be completed in 2024 ahead of Midnight’s planned entry into service in 2025. Phase two of the facility provides the capability to expand the operation to approximately 900,000ft² to support long-term production targets of more than 2,000 aircraft per year.

“The ability to manufacture eVTOL aircraft at scale is critical to building a successful business in this industry and Archer continues to maintain a significant lead on this front. Today, we’re taking another major step forward on our manufacturing buildout by securing a design-build agreement and financing agreement for the world’s first, and largest by volume, eVTOL manufacturing facility,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s founder and CEO. “Consistent with our capital efficient strategy of getting to commercialization, we’ve achieved attractive terms on the project. These agreements, along with our already strong partnership with Stellantis, give us the flexibility to ramp up our capacity and become the leading scale manufacturer of eVTOL aircraft in the world.”

Archer has selected Synovus Bank and Evans General Contractors LLC, respectively, as its financing and development partners. In selecting its partners for the Covington project, Archer considered a range of companies with expertise in high-volume manufacturing facilities in the southeast United States. Goldstein added, “We are committed long-term partners to the community in Covington, Georgia, and we are thrilled to be working with companies who share our vision of having the world’s leading, state-of-the-art eVTOL manufacturing facility right here in the United States.”

Archer’s goal is to transform urban travel, replacing 60-to-90 minute commutes by car, with estimated 10-to-20 minute electric aircraft flights that are safe, sustainable, low noise, and cost competitive with ground transportation. Archer’s Midnight is a piloted, four passenger aircraft designed to perform rapid back-to-back flights with minimal charge time in between flights. Archer’s Midnight aircraft will be manufactured at the company’s high-volume manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia, before being deployed to different customers and markets in the U.S. and abroad. Archer's team is based in Santa Clara, California.