Vermont’s BETA Technologies has opened the first large-scale manufacturing facility for electric aircraft in the nation.
"Oh, here she comes right down the chute. She’s about four feet off the deck there. In the plane is Nick Warren who formerly was a Marine One pilot for President Obama."
Back inside the new facility, Beta Technologies CEO and Founder Kyle Clark expects more than 300 all-electric aircraft to eventually be built at the 188,500-square-foot facility in South Burlington. And just like the zero-emission aircraft, Clark says the building has also been designed to be net-zero.
"What you guys are in is the first scale production facility for electric aircraft. This is a highly engineered facility on multiple fronts from how we’re building aircraft to how it energizes itself to the people flow and the community around it. As we built this company, we tried to do it incredibly thoughtfully in a science and data driven way with a clear mission at hand which is to help turn the corner on climate change. We have data scientists here collecting every bit of data off the aircraft in every flight. And that’s what allows us to move forward with the confidence to build a facility like this that will produce 300 aircraft per year. And this is only phase one."
The celebration brought dignitaries from across Vermont. Governor Phil Scott called the opening of the new facility a ‘big deal’ for the state and the nation.
"I believe what they’re doing will change aviation in the future. But it’s more than that. Most know how important it is to move away from fossil fuels. So the technology they’re developing is going to have an impact that extends well beyond electric aircraft. Addressing climate change will also benefit the economy. I believe BETA will be as important to Vermont in the coming years, mark my words, as IBM was for decades. They have the potential to become one of our largest employers and one of our biggest draws for skilled workers and innovators to locate here with their families."
The company is working with local schools to train students or get them interested in high-tech manufacturing. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said BETA is a leader in such efforts.
"Many of the young people who are going into the trades right now are earning very, very good salaries. So we are trying to work on apprenticeship programs in Vermont and around the country which allows kids to get their hands dirty, to see what’s going on, in high school, visit these places, do some work and understand that they can have a real meaningful, important and well-paying career in these jobs."
Retired U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy added that many jobs of the future will be in high-tech trades and manufacturing like Beta’s electric aircraft.
"It not the way it was and education can’t be the way it was when any one of us were in school. For example I helped set up two cybersecurity schools here in Vermont. Those people graduate from there have jobs almost immediately. In fact the most difficult thing they have are headhunters coming in and trying to hire people when they’re juniors and sophomores. I want them to have jobs here in Vermont. I want people like Kyle (Clark) and BETA and others to create these jobs. It’s not going to be the kind of jobs that I thought were going to be created when I was growing up. They’re going to be these new jobs. It’s the kind of future we want for Vermont."
In keeping with the company’s sustainability and net-zero mission, the new manufacturing facility uses a series of 260 geothermal wells and roof-mounted solar panels for heat and electricity. Skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows provide natural lighting. The building’s sub-base concrete foundation includes a 99 percent recycled glass aggregate which replaces about 100,000 cubic feet of Styrofoam insulation.
BETA Technologies also has facilities in Plattsburgh, NY, Montreal, Canada, Washington D.C., Raleigh, NC and Springfield, Ohio.
