eVTOL: AutoFlight invents the zero-carbon floating vertiport

AutoFlight unveils a floating vertiport capable of supporting eVTOL to meet new logistical, rescue, and tourism needs.

In November 2025, AutoFlight Aviation Technology introduced what is already emerging as one of the major innovations in electric aviation: the world’s first zero-carbon floating vertiport, designed from the outset as a platform entirely dedicated to eVTOL.

On the shores of Dianshan Lake, near Shanghai, the Chinese company offered a full-scale demonstration of its vision: to turn rivers, lakes, and coastal areas into real hubs of aerial mobility, free of any land constraints. The idea is simple to articulate but ambitious to achieve, based on a consensus shared across the industry: urban vertiports are complicated to install, expensive, and available land is becoming scarce. So, why not move the solution out of the cities and literally onto the water?

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Innovation

28/11/2025 18:28

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Transfer to land next

Dubbed “Water-based Green Vertiport” or “Sunship”, this autonomous module is a mobile air hub, designed as a coherent ensemble blending landing platform, energy system, command post, and passenger space. The upper platform serves as a launch bridge for eVTOL, fully covered with photovoltaic panels capable of powering the infrastructure and recharging devices.

The lower structure encompasses essential functions: technical room, passenger cabin, operations supervision, communication, and traffic management. AutoFlight aimed to create a true mini-floating airport, smart, autonomous, and deployable in just a few hours, whereas a land-based vertiport requires months of construction and heavily constrained permits.

This infrastructure only makes sense if it fully integrates into the aerial ecosystem that AutoFlight has been developing for several years. The vertiport is thus compatible with several eVTOL models from the manufacturer: the White Shark, aimed at heavy industry; the CarryAll, a 2-ton cargo device designed for logistics; and Prosperity, a six-seat eVTOL intended for regular transport.

By integrating these three devices with a platform capable of handling takeoff, landing, recharging, communication, and coordination, AutoFlight offers a truly integrated solution between land, water, and sky. This model transcends the framework of a simple product: it represents a complete ecosystem, where infrastructure, energy, and devices work together.

Goodbye, helicopters!

This floating vertiport thus paves the way for a particularly wide range of uses. In the offshore industry, it can accelerate the maintenance of wind farms or oil platforms, drastically reducing the time for transporting personnel or critical parts. In the rescue domain, it becomes a major asset for coastal and river areas: paired with fast eVTOL and an onboard command center, it can cut intervention times by more than half while increasing the search area.

In urban environments, it can serve as an aerial shuttle between two otherwise hard-to-reach areas: AutoFlight cites, for example, the possibility of connecting Hongqiao Airport to the Lujiazui business district in just a few minutes, via a vertiport positioned on the Huangpu River. Tourism also benefits: the company sees this “sea + sky” combination as an opportunity to offer new high-end experiences.

Finally, multiple vertiports can be interconnected to form a floating “cluster,” capable of absorbing dense traffic or conducting coordinated large-scale missions.

The demonstration conducted on Dianshan Lake illustrates the transition from concept to reality. A 2-ton cargo eVTOL took off from a floating vertiport, proving the technical feasibility of the operation and the platform’s stability. AutoFlight also showcased a formation flight of three eVTOL, during which the drones performed material drops and launched rescue boats, demonstrating the system’s relevance for rescue and logistics operations in aquatic environments.

While issues of regulation, safety, and economic models still need clarification, this innovation opens up a new field: that of clean, flexible, mobile, and interconnected aerial mobility, capable of transforming our aquatic areas into true gateways to a new generation of transportation.