{"id":88494,"date":"2024-12-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/"},"modified":"2024-12-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T00:00:00","slug":"frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/","title":{"rendered":"France\u2019s XSun to produce solar-powered drones in Saudi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saudi <\/strong>will produce solar-powered drones:<\/strong> Saudi Arabia\u2019s Qaddiya Air has signed an agreement<\/a> with France's autonomous drone maker XSun<\/a> to establish a factory producing solar-powered drones in Riyadh, XSun's CEO Benjamin David told Asharq Business<\/a> last week. The factory is set to begin operations early next year and XSun will fully transfer the tech to Saudi Arabia within three years, Qaddiya Air\u2019s Mohammed AI Harbi told Ashraq. The initial phase will include making two drones for USD 10 mn, including spare parts for six drones. The agreement includes training local cadres and pilots on the maintenance and operation of the drones, according to David. <\/p>\n

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links<\/strong> to our background and outside sources.)<\/p>\n

What we know so far: <\/strong>The zero emissions drones<\/a> \u2014 capable of flying for 12 hours during daylight and 4 hours at night \u2014 are designed for various applications, including reconnaissance, environmental monitoring, and agricultural surveillance.<\/p>\n

A big year ahead for Saudi green aviation:<\/strong> Test flights for the eVTOL aircraft Saudi Airlines purchased from Germany\u2019s Lilium are set for February 2025<\/a>. The tests will be followed by training pilots and developing infrastructure until deliveries start to trickle in by 2H 2026. Saudi Arabia\u2019s pilotless, two-person EH216 eVTOL \u2014 which can fly for up to 40 km \u2014 also completed<\/a> its first trial last June, with more trials scheduled to support the Hajj season next year. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s more to come: <\/strong>US eVTOL manufacturer Joby Aviation \u2014 backed by Saudi Jameel Investment \u2014 inked a partnership agreement<\/a> with Aramco subsidiary Mukamalah Aviation to deploy eVTOLs in Saudi Arabia last May. Mukamalah and Joby would work with Saudi\u2019s General Authority of Civil Aviation to speed up Joby\u2019s entry into the domestic market and line up direct eVTOL sales to Mukamalah. Brazilian company Eve Air Mobility<\/a> and German flying taxi maker Volocopter<\/a> are also active in the Kingdom. <\/p>\n

IN OTHER <\/strong>GREEN MOBILITY NEWS- <\/p>\n

Abu Dhabi edges closer to launching air taxi operations: <\/strong>US-based eVTOL manufacturer Archer Aviation signed an agreement to launch commercial air taxi operations in Abu Dhabi, according to an Abu Dhabi Media Office statement<\/a>. This comes after the company signed a framework agreement<\/a> with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (Adio) for the operational enablement of air taxis in the country, and to locally manufacture Archer\u2019s aircraft and build vertiports in April. Archer Aviation\u2019s Midnight eVTOL \u2014 which will serve as a flying taxi in Abu Dhabi next year \u2014 completed a transition flight<\/a> at over 100 mph during testing in the US last June. <\/p>\n

Who\u2019s involved?<\/strong> Parties involved in the new agreement include Adio, Abu Dhabi Airports, Falcon Aviation Services, Etihad Aviation Training, the General Civil Aviation Authority, Global Air Navigation Services, Global Aerospace Logistics, and the Integrated Transport Center (Abu Dhabi Mobility).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The factory will initially manufacture two drones at a cost of USD 10 mn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":88495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[278],"tags":[11,63,277,159,94,52],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-88494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-mobility","tag-enterpriseclimate","tag-evtol","tag-green-mobility","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-solar","tag-uae","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"38795b2b-ae54-4844-a91b-88ee1778bf31","order":"6","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"France\u2019s XSun to produce solar-powered drones in Saudi","related_issue":[88484],"teaser":"The factory will initially manufacture two drones at a cost of USD 10 mn","voice_url":"https:\/\/s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/ent.news\/audio\/2024\/12\/.35307dce-421c-4cf2-8305-31a722dcb2c3.mp3"},"yoast_head":"\nFrance\u2019s XSun to produce solar-powered drones in Saudi - Climate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"France\u2019s XSun to produce solar-powered drones in Saudi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The factory will initially manufacture two drones at a cost of USD 10 mn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Climate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-09T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"enterpriseam admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"enterpriseam admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"enterpriseam admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d\"},\"headline\":\"France\u2019s XSun to produce solar-powered drones in Saudi\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-09T00:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/\"},\"wordCount\":473,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"EnterpriseClimate\",\"EVTOL\",\"green mobility\",\"Saudi Arabia\",\"SOLAR\",\"UAE\"],\"articleSection\":[\"GREEN MOBILITY\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/\",\"name\":\"France\u2019s XSun to produce solar-powered drones in Saudi - Climate\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-09T00:00:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"France\u2019s XSun to produce solar-powered drones in Saudi\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/\",\"name\":\"Climate\",\"description\":\"The State of the Nation\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Climate\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/25470.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/25470.svg\",\"caption\":\"Climate\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d\",\"name\":\"enterpriseam admin\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/enterpriseam.testing.projectsarea.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/author\/enterpriseam\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"France\u2019s XSun to produce solar-powered drones in Saudi - Climate","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"France\u2019s XSun to produce solar-powered drones in Saudi","og_description":"The factory will initially manufacture two drones at a cost of USD 10 mn","og_url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/","og_site_name":"Climate","article_published_time":"2024-12-09T00:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"enterpriseam admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"enterpriseam admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/"},"author":{"name":"enterpriseam admin","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d"},"headline":"France\u2019s XSun to produce solar-powered drones in Saudi","datePublished":"2024-12-09T00:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/"},"wordCount":473,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","keywords":["EnterpriseClimate","EVTOL","green mobility","Saudi Arabia","SOLAR","UAE"],"articleSection":["GREEN MOBILITY"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/","name":"France\u2019s XSun to produce solar-powered drones in Saudi - Climate","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","datePublished":"2024-12-09T00:00:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/12\/09\/frances-xsun-to-produce-solar-powered-drones-in-saudi\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"France\u2019s XSun to produce solar-powered drones in Saudi"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#website","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/","name":"Climate","description":"The State of the Nation","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#organization","name":"Climate","url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/25470.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ent.news\/internal\/25470.svg","caption":"Climate"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/#\/schema\/person\/ca597032db7e4db868359c123cec256d","name":"enterpriseam admin","sameAs":["http:\/\/enterpriseam.testing.projectsarea.com"],"url":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/author\/enterpriseam\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"enterpriseam admin","author_link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/author\/enterpriseam\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ent.news\/2024\/12\/784.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgVl2y-n1k","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88494\/revisions"}],"acf:post":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue\/88484"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88494"},{"taxonomy":"brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/brand?post=88494"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=88494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}