West Michigan Regional Airport was selected as one of four Michigan airports to receive electric aviation charging solutions.
West Michigan Regional Airport (WMRA) and BETA Technologies broke ground on the site of a multimodal electric charging system this week, adding to BETA’s growing networking across the U.S. BETA Technologies chose West Michigan Regional Airport as one of four Michigan airports to receive multimodal electric charging infrastructure as a part of a $2.6 million grant the company received from the state to accelerate Advanced Aerial Mobility (AAM) readiness and growth in Michigan. This grant marks one of the first state-wide initiatives supporting AAM and signifies a major change for the present and future industry. The multimodal, interoperable chargers will be compatible with a variety of electric aircraft and ground vehicles on-site at the airport.
BETA, the AAM grant recipient, is an electric aerospace company based in Vermont working to electrify aviation for the future. They also build and sell all-electric aircraft and charging infrastructure to enable this new mode of transportation.
“Advanced air mobility has the power to change the way we move goods and people in a significant way,” said Nate Ward, BETA’s head of charging network development. “In addition to reducing costs and emissions, it also increases operational safety and reliability. Michigan has a rich history of driving transformation in mobility, and we’re excited to bring this new aviation technology to West Michigan Regional Airport as the state continues to lean in and help shape the future of this industry and its communities.”
As part of their product and service offerings, BETA sells multimodal, interoperable charging solutions that support all electric aircraft and many ground EVs. They have 49 charging locations online at airports along the East and Gulf coasts with plans to continue to expand their network by the end of 2025. WMRA’s new charging infrastructure will be one of only four across the state and the only one of its kind in West Michigan.
Through the grant, WMRA will receive two chargers. BETA Technologies’ Charge Cube offers 320kW of power with the ability to charge aircraft and ground vehicles within a 50-foot range. The second charger is BTC Power’s commercial-grade L2 30 Amp dual port charger, which offers 7.2kW per port for electric vehicles and will be located in the terminal parking lot. The two chargers will allow WMRA to better-serve airport visitors’ electric transportation needs.
“We’re thrilled the team at BETA chose our airport as one of four Michigan airports to receive an electric charging setup. We’re excited about the opportunities this will provide our tenants, partners, visitors and community.” said Matthew Neyens, airport manager at WMRA.
Timeline discussions are in early stages.
About BETA Technologies
BETA Technologies is an electric aviation company based in Burlington, Vermont. Founded in 2017, the company is changing the paradigm of how we transport goods and people by making aviation cleaner, more efficient, and safer. To do this, BETA has developed and is producing all-electric, net-zero aircraft; is deploying a multimodal and interoperable charging network across the U.S.; and is creating programs to train next-generation pilots and maintainers. BETA customers include leading global operators and government agencies.
For more information on BETA Technologies, visit https://beta.team/.
