Archer Aviation has closed agreements with Synovus Bank and Evans General Contractors for the financing and development of its high-volume manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia. Construction is already underway on the first phase of the build out of approximately 350,000sq ft to support production of up to 650 aircraft per year, which would make it the world's largest eVTOL aircraft manufacturing facility by volume.

Archer expects to produce the highest volume of eVTOL aircraft while bearing a dramatically lower manufacturing capital cost than projects announced by competitors in the industry. This announcement secures at least $65 million in financing, which represents a substantial majority of the cost of construction. In conjunction with previously announced incentives from the state of Georgia and a partnership with Stellantis, this 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 like 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 900,000sq ft to support long-term production targets of over 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 build out by securing a design-build agreement and financing agreement for the world's first, and largest by volume, eVTOL manufacturing facility,” says Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein. “Consistent with our capital efficient strategy of getting to commercialisation, 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 as its financing and development partners, respectively, from a range of companies with expertise in high-volume manufacturing facilities in the southeast US. Goldstein adds: “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 eVTOL manufacturing facility right here in the United States.”