The North Carolina Department of Transportation is helping support the launch of the state’s first electric aircraft charging hub in early 2024 at Raleigh Executive Jetport in Sanford; a hub designed to be “multimodal” so it can charge not only electric aircraft but electric cars and trucks as well.
[Above photo by NCDOT]
BETA Technologies, an electric aerospace company, will install the two multimodal charging stations to serve electric aircraft and ground electric vehicles. The site will include a Level-3 fast-charge Charge Cube, which will charge electric aircraft in under an hour, and an accompanying Charge Center where aircraft crew can rest.
Those new chargers in North Carolina will be part of a growing national network of charging stations BETA is building to enable electric flight. The company has also developed electric aircraft capable of moving passengers and cargo more efficiently and with fewer environmental impacts.
The groundbreaking event featured one of those aircraft, BETA’s ALIA conventional takeoff and landing electric aircraft. The plane originated at BETA’s headquarters in Burlington, VT, and stopped in North Carolina during its 1,500-mile flight down the East Coast – an aeronautical tour coordinated by the U.S. Air Force’s research arm, known as AFWERX.
NCDOT noted in a statement that the Raleigh Executive Jetport site will also include a Level 2 car charger, which will be installed in the airport’s parking lot. The project required a significant expansion of the airport’s apron, where the charging stations will be located. The NCDOT funded the expansion of the apron, which was recently completed and is now ready for additional construction.
The agency noted that electrification is a key component of the state’s “Advance Mobility NC” strategic plan, which leverages NCDOT’s work to create a multimodal transportation system that improves the mobility of people and freight.