Israel's Gadfin joins hands with energy firm Enel on developing capabilities of VTOL drone
Israel's Gadfin, a manufacturer of drones for aerial surveys and deliveries, has signed an agreement with Italy-based electricity infrastructure company Enel under which they will jointly develop the inspection capabilities of Gadfin's Spirit One electrical Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) vehicle.
Enel and Gadfin are to work together through INFRALAB, the innovation lab set up by Enel and Israel's Shikun&Binui construction and infrastructure group, located in the city of Haifa. The two companies plan to develop innovative inspection solutions and work together to enable the surveying of 800,000km of the multinational power company's voltage lines, according to Gadfin.
After demonstrating the Spirit One's long-range performance capabilities to ENEL, Gadfin was chosen from among 35 companies as the most innovative solution to solve the challenge of inspecting electrical infrastructures with efficient and sustainable technology, Gadfin said. The company estimated that the project could be worth up to $12 million per annum.
The selection of Gadfin, a breakthrough in the company’s international activities, was based on the capability of its unmanned long range eVTOL autonomous aircraft to cover long distances quickly, efficiently and safely. This capability assures ENEL of advanced service that amounts to significant savings on ENEL operating teams and handling breakdowns in remote, hard-to-access areas, while providing continuous electrical flow to its clients worldwide, according to the Israeli company.
Gadfin says that it is offering the world, for the very first time, an 25Kg MTOW-category eVTOL unmanned vehicle with a flight range of more than 250 km. The Spirit One is said to be in line with the strictest international safety standards and capable of flying at high speed and in almost any type of weather. The aircraft is operated autonomously with almost no human intervention.
Gadfin's CEO Eyal Regev said “The agreement with INFRALAB and ENEL choice once again proves Gadfin’s technological advantages and the outstanding solutions it offers for long flight range, low operational costs, and high levels of safety. I am sure that we will see similar contracts in the future, which will leverage the company’s ability to improve the efficiency and service for many companies in the world, which in the end translates into savings for each and every one of us."
Early this year, Gadfin became the first company to receive a permit from Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority for urban airspace deliveries, enabling the linking of hospitals, laboratories, and other organizations and institutions by drones.
Gadfin was established in 2018 by Eyal Regev, Ran Kleiner and Ilan Yuval. It specializes in developing drones of various sizes for aerial infrastructure surveys and B2B drone delivery needed by organizations such as hospitals and medical laboratories.
Gadfin Presenting the next generation of Air Cargo Drones, Sep 8, 2020
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