Former GM/Ford Executive Brings Next-Gen Electric Airplane To Market

Electric mobility pioneer Dan Grossman has been confirmed as the President of Pyka, who reportedly makes the first and only commercially certified 100% electric autonomous plane working in precision agriculture.

Following this announcement was the reveal for plans of a passenger and cargo electric plane. The company has been developing the plane for the past four and a half years, based on their technology advancements in autonomous crop spraying. 

Silicon Valley-based Pyka (backed by Prime Movers Lab, Y Combinator, and Greycroft) has completed over 3,000 crop protection missions for the agriculture industry in their electric aircraft, the Pelican. This is the first time they have spoken of the next step in their plans to expand into the cargo and passenger market.

“Electric and hydrogen propulsion technologies are playing an increasingly important role in the future of human mobility,” said Dan Grossman, President of Pyka. “Pyka’s benchmark-setting electric propulsion systems, safety critical control software, advanced avionics, and custom composite airframes result from years of work in agriculture with our Pelican aircraft, and I’m excited to have joined this talented team to bring the results to human passenger aviation.”

“In the coming decade, automation and electrification will solve the cost and safety issues that have prevented helicopters and small planes from becoming a meaningful part of our transportation system,” said Pyka CEO Michael Norcia.

“Dan Grossman has already fundamentally changed the way people move around our world in his work with Ford, Zipcar and GM. We couldn’t be happier to announce that he's joined our team, and to share specifications on our planned passenger plane.”

Pykas zero emissions passenger plane will be called the P3. Its range will be 250 miles at a 180mph cruise speed.

The P3 is set to see a 5x reduction in direct operating costs when compared with current models. In 2025, the P3 is set to commence flight for same and next day cargo transport, with plans to certify for piloted passenger transport shortly after. The P3 seeks to provide airlines with an all-electric vehicle that will expand the reach of operations while decarbonizing their regional trips.

FMI: https://flypyka.com/