Hi everyone and welcome to the EV Touring Sites Podcast with me Jason Pritchard. Every week are we speaking to industry leaders from across the global advanced mobility market, diving into key topics and getting their insights on the current state of the ecosystem. This episode is sponsored by the Jagen Group, an international award-winning media, marketing and communications business based in the UK. Its transport practice supports a range of companies in the travel and transport sector including specialists and the airway structures, interiors and aviation components markets. Head to the Jagen Group.com for more information on their services. In this episode I'm joined by Adam Trello who leads the commercial business development team at RegionCraft. At a accomplished pilot Adam has accumulated more than 5,000 hours flying a variety of jet and turboprop airquart including the Airbus A320 family of jets. Adam is a former regional sales director and channel partner leader based in Singapore with text from aviation. Today he leads the sales, ecosystems and data analytics teams responsible for building regions existing backlog of more than $10 billion in provisional and firm orders for their family of all new wing in-ground effect vessels. So Adam thank you so much for joining me on the EV Tour Insights Podcast. Great to be here. Thanks so much for having me Jason. Excellent. Adam I know our audience are really excited here in all the wonderful updates from Region. So guys just kicked things off on this podcast. Can you give us an update then on Region's current development rate? It's very exciting. Yeah absolutely. So for those of you who are listeners that don't know, Region's building an all-electric wing in-ground effect, Sea Going vessel called a sea glider. This vesicle skins on that cushion of air that gets sandwiched between the bottom of the wing and the water surface. The business has been around since late 2020. We came out of a wide combinator with our first seat funds and since then been building out both in terms of employees and technical development. So we started with our quarter-scaled prototype. That's where we unlocked our float, foil fly modes. Earlier this year we completed construction of and began sea trials on our full scale prototype. Full scale means 65 foot wingspan, 55 feet long, about 14 feet off the waterline. And that full scale test is going to go through exactly the same operational modes as it moves through the full test regime. So we started out in float mode several months back. We expanded that to foil mode just a couple of weeks ago. And we're slowly opening up that operational envelope in foil mode. Targeting flight late summer. So lots of good things happening here. We are not sticking to a specific deadline as it relates to flight. It's all about safety first. So we'll continue to open up the operational envelope on the vessel. We'll continue to test in foil mode when it's absolutely right. We'll begin the flight test portion of the campaign. Excellent. Really good to hear. Thank you so much for that update too. We've seen a lot of those flight tests on the videos. I think the video really just painted a thousand words, seen it in action. An incredible amount of hard work that's gone into that achievement as well. Are you up to share a little bit more about those milestones? Also, what has feedback been like from early partners and customers? Because I can imagine that they must be really excited by just how much progress region has been making so far. Yeah, I mean, in terms of milestones, the business moved very much in the same fashion as some of the other advanced mobility companies out there. So really, we needed to prove the technical wear with all of the first prototype and actually show that we could make that first in the world transition from foil to flight. So all on electric power, right? So in doing so at the quarter scale level, we demonstrated that we could create the control by wire flight control systems, integrate them into a simple left, right, fast, slow interface, and provide mariners the ability to operate wing and ground effect vessels. So we took the learnings, we took that software, we took that control interface, we took all of the transitions between aerodynamics and hydrodynamics and we took those learnings to the full scale model. So you know, we have transitioned as one would expect raising money around along the way, meeting and exceeding critical milestones, all with an eye toward, you know, beginning commercial operations and deliveries in 2027 for this vessel. Excellent, really exciting to hear as well Adam and again, love to hear the announcements as it gets closer to that 2027 as well. And if you don't mind me asking as well, in terms of commercial operations, what does Regent's path look like? Are there particular regions or use cases that you see lead in adoption? Again, for our audience that are fairly new to this market and would love to hear more about Regent's path to those commercial operations? Yeah, so as you mentioned in the onset, I'm the VP of commercial business development that sales, ecosystems, and data analytics. On the sales side, myself and my team, now roughly 14 people have been responsible for, you know, winning the business, securing contracts with firm deposits and delivery positions on seed lighters. So our customers are incredibly excited to operate these seed lighters someday. So as a reminder, Regent is purely an OEM. We are building seed lighters and our customers will operate them. So there is no scenario where Regent is an operator in any of these ecosystems, but we will create these seed lighters. We will deliver them to operators and those operators will provide service to end users. So in terms of, you know, first commercial deliveries still tracking 2027, early 2027 timeframe, we're working closely with the regulators, whether it's US Coast Guard, the United States, or any of the class societies, specifically LR in international markets. That plus the flag to help our customers unlock commercial operations when they take delivery. So all these things are happening in concert, right? We're building the seed lighter, we're securing orders, we're working with our order holders to unlock operations on delivery. And then we're just making sure that we're interfacing in the right way within the spaces they intend to operate. We call that ecosystem development. That's where we engage critical stakeholders to make sure that everybody sort of understands and is is bought in on all the opportunities that come with seed lighters and their operations. Excellent. Thanks ever so much for that. And I guess the follow up on that as well is the importance of regions having those key conversations with the stakeholders, especially if companies or stakeholders who again might not be familiar with this type of transport as well. It's going to transform people's lives, you know, towards as to say 2027, 2028 and start the decade as well. So I have to share a little bit more than about the importance of regions role in that to guess the education role and to sort of paint that picture of what it will look like in future two. Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, Regent recognizes that we're building a platform, but it's going to take a whole host of sponsors, if you will, to really make those operations a reality. So we've created our seed lighter initiatives of what there are five now, where we pull in all of the critical stakeholders that will have a say and unlocking these types of services. So whether it's, you know, government sponsors, utility service providers, infrastructure partners, environmental stakeholders, community leaders, we want everybody to understand, you know, what kinds of benefits that seed lighters can bring. But also to have a say in exactly where those operations take place, right? We want people to have a chance to weigh in on where services are needed most. You know, how can they, how can specific communities benefit from the ridiculously low operating costs that come with these types of platforms? You know, how can we get people to more doctors appointments, to more high paying jobs, access to affordable housing. Seagliders are unique in that they can access all of those different markets in a way that's incredibly affordable. So it's not just, you know, a really cool piece of tech that flies fast and low and certifies under maritime law. It's a way of really changing the way communities and people live their lives. And that's one of the things that makes it so compelling and rewarding. Excellent. Thanks, Heather, so much for sharing that, Adam too. And I guess in terms of the, the whole building out the actual sort of the actual operation side of things as well. I know you mentioned that region is an actual sort of the manufacturer side of things, but a number of questions the week asked from an audience or readers that read down bits with region two is about the infrastructure development. I mean, I don't know whether that's something you might be out to add. It's a little bit of a difficult question, but I'd love to kind of get an idea on the infrastructure development, particularly in coastal cities where the region C-Cov will hopefully operate. Yeah. So as it relates to infrastructure, we have this huge advantage in our space, because our vessel is equipped and built to operate out of existing docs, right? So if you were to come out to our facility today in low-quare RC-Cov.
the lighters operating, it runs from a very simple floating dock. So one of the whole benefits and value propositions associated with Regents Seek Lighters is this ability to operate from existing dock infrastructure without major modifications required, right? So when we start looking at really scaling operations, that's when we start looking to some of the larger ports. And we've been in numerous conversations all over the world with major ports. And one of the big advantages we have there too is the bulk of the ports that operate cruise ships or other ferries around the world, they're already plumbed with tremendous amounts of shore power to get those big ships off of diesel motors and on electric power once they're docked, right? So we can plug in to that kind of shore power and really benefit from it right out the gate. In addition, you know, most major ports do not want to dredge every space. Like for instance, in Dodge Island, there are a number of places where low draft ships can only access that part of the island, right? That's in Miami. So you know, Seek Lighters are uniquely poised to access those spaces where other large ships can't because of our low draft. And that allows these ports to unlock more and more of their available coastline for revenue purposes. So it's really this synergistic opportunity where, you know, the power is already there, the vessels incredibly adaptable to all kinds of different types of ports. And the service is ready to be offered to people that are hungry to receive it. Excellent. Thank you very much, Fadam. And to follow on from what you mentioned about the Seek Lighters themselves as well is, from your perspective, how do then these Seek Lighters complement or then compete with the traditional EV Tour Laircraft and other emergency mobility solutions? As you say, it's fraction of the cost in terms of operating, but I'd love to again hear how it all fits into this wider ecosystem as well. Sure. So, you know, we're really EV toll adjacent, right? So Seek Lighters have this, you know, amazing opportunity to sort of democratize transportation. So if you look at the typical EV toll that's out there, you know, they're tracking, you know, one pilot, four passengers, you know, between 25 and 50 miles each leg. Those EV tolls will need to charge about $350 to $400 per passenger to make that leg economical. Seek Lighters are different. Our energy profile and energy consumption is completely different. We're not doing those really high drain vertical takeoffs and vertical landings. So we can offer, you know, one captain, 12 passengers, about 180 statute miles and we can provide that service at about $50 a ticket. So you can see how much more accessibility there would be on Seek Lighters, but I don't want to imply that Seek Lighters are meant to accomplish every mission. We actually see a tremendous number of synergies associated with EV toll and Seek Lighter operations. So one of the reasons we love the ports is because they tend to have a number of clearways located around them. So one of the biggest challenges associated with EV toll operations is where do you take off, where do you land, where do you charge, how do you navigate congested airspace without, you know, making it even more congested. So we have this unique opportunity to co-locate and make multimodal reports, right? So Seek Lighters would park at the port and charge, EV tolls would be there waiting for customers to take them on those short hops into the city center. They could come back charge again and do the next leg. And because the ports already have parking, you already have this nice node that's there and ready for the taking versus, you know, having to spend a bunch of money to, you know, re-equip airports or build verteports, those types of things. So we see a number of potential collaborations there that we've been working to build over the years. Excellent. That sounds really exciting. I don't think that, and thank you so much for explaining that as well. That seems a very good proposition as well with that too. So in regards to the Seek Craft itself as well, I understand that there's a lot of markets outside of the US that are slow at showing early traction or interest in region's technology as well. And if you share with our audience, are there any particular areas or regions within the US that you're focusing on for the sort of day one or early operations? And are there any sort of opportunities that you're identifying sort of potentially as the technology matures and we go into the next decade as well? Yeah. So, you know, our customers end of data side where they want to operate their Seek Gliders. Region just stands ready to support them in that decision making. We provide a tremendous amount of data to inform those types of operations. You know, more than 40% of the world's population lives on the coast. So, you know, we have this amazing opportunity to serve those people. We really focus a number of markets out the gate. Our customers have expressed significant interest in places like Hawaii, in places like South Florida, in places in the Northeast like New York and Tucket and others. Internationally, of course, we have amazing representation on the Med and in Europe in the Middle East, of course, where there's a number of opportunities and, of course, in Southeast Asia. So, our customers get to decide exactly where they operate and provide these services. We're just here to help them unlock. But we see a very rich space to begin to provide those services down the road. Awesome. Thank you so much for that. And then in terms of those customers as well, we've reported a number of the partnerships that Region has signed. Are you able to give our audience a bit of a flavor as to which of the partners that you're working with and some of those customers that you're working with already to get an idea of just the momentum that Region is making? Yeah, I mean, there's almost too many to mention, right? So, you know, on the customer side, you know, we've made announcements with Southern Airways, the largest part 135 operator in the world. We've made announcements with companies like Urban Link that plan to unlock operations in Miami. We've made announcements with major ferry companies like Britney Ferries in the UK and France with FRS in Germany. We have amazing strategic advisors and investors that have partnered with us to help unlock ecosystems. So, whether it's Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines or Japan Airlines, we've seen some amazing partnerships there. So, that is just a flavor of, you know, the types of entities that are interested in what services sea gliders can bring. And we see that interest continuing to grow. We announced not too long ago a new partnership and pilot opportunity with AdNoc, which is an offshore oil and gas company in the UAE. So, you're really starting to see just how you pick what is this, you know, these operations and the use cases can be for sea glider service. And that's reflected in the order book and in the ecosystem partnerships we have today. Brilliant. Well, long way that continue as well. I'd like to thank you for sharing those details. In terms of the ecosystem development as well. And are you able to share a little bit more about the broader ecosystem and the various just as important? This is a flying boat. It certifies in a maritime law. So, it is maritime through and through. But as it relates to the training to your point, you know, this is going to be a professionally operated vessel, right? So we have to make sure that we provide the right levels of training. Our customers will send their qualified maritime captains to our factory school. And they'll receive 46 weeks of in-house training that will include, you know, both wing and ground effect theory followed by type specific training on the vice-reu itself, both in simulators and then if necessary, initial operating experience in the vessel later. So, training is a critical component of the service we provide as an OEM. And you know, that's one of the ways we make sure that sea gliders are the safest advanced air mobility platform out there. Perfect. Perfect. No, thank you very much as well. And if you don't mind, if I could just go back on to the regulation side of things as well, Adam, you know, are there any unique challenges or opportunities with the current engagement you're having with maritime directs as well? I'd love to again, because it's such a unique in terms of what our board is used to, reading and listening about. I'm able to share a bit more on the regulation side of things and any challenges or opportunities that they're holds as well. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, so we've been working with the United States Coast Guard for four plus years now on certification of this vessel. Interestingly enough, under IMO, sea gliders or wing and ground effect vessels specifically have been carved out under maritime law for almost 30 years now. So all wing and ground effect vessels have been classified as boats for decades. The US Coast Guard recognizes that a number of regulators in Europe recognize that. So we're very fortunate to have established regulatory frameworks for actually certifying sea gliders. So they will be certified, right? In the United States, the US Coast Guard has been working with us. We recently submitted our design basis agreement. We'll be working with them on putting the finishing touches on that, which will help define how these sea gliders get built. Internationally, we work with the classifications.
So in this case, we're starting with Lloyd's register. They'll be looking through a very similar set of documentation and helping us achieve our weak safety cert when these vessels certify under their domain. So the vessels will all come out with certifications from the regulators you would expect to certify any other boat. Once they are certified, we work with our customers to help them get approvals for commercial operations. So we're actually helping to write all of the internal manuals that our customers will use to apply to the various regulators to provide those operations. Excellent. Thank you very much, Adam. And with all that in mind as well is the advanced mobility space, it's taken a lot of shape at the moment as well. Again, look to ask a little bit more about the market evolving over the next five to ten years. Maybe then reach and fit into that ecosystem as well. Yeah. So we have this amazing opportunity to begin to offset existing modes of transportation. So again, because so much of that population lives on the coast, we can start to get them off of slow moving ferries. We can get them out of the airports and out of the security lines and the baggage checks. We can get them off the roads. We can get them off the rail lines and we can move more of those movements to the underutilized ports that are often right next to or in the city already, right? So we're not talking about net replacement, but we are talking about a massive increase in convenience for people who want to move between these locations. So one of our first operating areas, our customers for operating areas is going to be Miami. Many people know that Miami is one of those places that's sort of defined by traffic. So if you look at the Palm Beach Fort Lauderdale, Miami Run, 95 clocks up all the time, right? And it's right on the coast. So what if we didn't have to take the train to and from those spaces? You're probably not going to fly it on an airplane, but there's plenty of people that commute on helicopter those two thoughts. So we can really provide all kinds of high speed, low cost service through our customers in those situations. So if it's coastal, and there's a lot of people there, we see an application for seed gliders in the future. Excellent. Thank you ever so much for that Adam. And then with you personally then, in terms of the future of regionability and region warning, shape and net, what personally excites you the most about this wave of innovation technology, what currently in the Miami? Yeah, I'm fortunate because I got a front row seat with this organization having come on very, very early. But if you think about just all of the big changes we've had in maritime and aviation, not since the dawn of the jet age, have you seen this total shift where we can, by orders of magnitude, dramatically reduce the cost of transportation while making it cleaner and more accessible? So what's most exciting about this to me is that we can build a boat that works with boat controls that travels at the speed of a turbo prop and has the cost of an expensive bus ticket. Like when else in the world are you going to create something like that? So to be a part of that creation, to having had a chance to make some small contributions and to get to see this thing as it comes to life and services begin to be offered to frankly people who could desperately use this kind of thing, I couldn't be more grateful and proud. This is an awesome time to be an advanced arm mobility. And I really do stand with all of our partners in this space where huge fans of the EV tolls and everything they've accomplished, for huge fans of the foiling boats out there that are helping us share charging. So it's an honor to be a member of this community. Next and very well said as well Adam. And then in regards to Regent and the rest of 2025 into 2026 as well, what does the next maybe six to 12 months have in store? I imagine it's quite a busy time for you and the team, but were you able to kind of give us a sneak as to what the next step, what the rest of the year has in store? All I can say is stay tuned. There's going to be some awesome announcements. We have a number of additional ecosystem partnerships coming online. We've got some really big orders that we're going to be announcing. You're going to see all kinds of development as it relates to testing of the vessel. So lots of really exciting stuff as we open up that operational envelope. And you know, you're going to see lots of growth in Regent, right? We're hiring at pace. We're adding all kinds of amazing people to help us make this dream a reality. So all I can say is stay tuned. It's going to be an awesome, awesome ride. We very much look forward to hearing those developments when they are available as well. And thank you very much for giving us that little sort of tease there for the next couple of months and into the end of the year as well. Now we've covered already so much on the podcast. I don't know. So thank you ever so much for that. But before we finish, I hope to share any final thoughts you'd like to share with our audience. So I think we've not already covered about Regent and its mission and its roadmap or anything you want us to sort of reinforce that we might not have missed as well. So over to you. Yeah, I would just extend my gratitude and appreciation to your audience for their interest in these new technologies. You know, the more we can educate the public about the benefits of this kind of tech and the ways it can move us forward as a community, you know, and as a society, the better, right? So I would just extend my vote of appreciation and thanks to everyone listening today. This is an awesome time to be in this space. And we appreciate your continued interest and support. Excellent. And then finally, how can people stay updated with Regent? All those big announcements that are on the horizon. What's the best way to stay in touch with Regent? Well, I'm very grateful. We have an amazing marketing team that's constantly spreading the word word. So we're all over social media, right? We are all over LinkedIn and Instagram and all the places everyone is today. You can also visit RegentCraft.com and click the news tab at the top and we can get you all the information there too. So you will find us, even if you're not looking. So we're happy that we're happy to spread the word. Perfect. Adam, it's been an absolute pleasure having you on our podcast today as well. Keep up the great work. Very excited about these announcements in the coming weeks, months as well. So look forward to hopefully keeping in touch and would welcome for you another episode in future. So thank you once again. Of course, thank you Jason, take care. That's all we've got time for this week. Thanks so much for listening. Evie Tulling sites is always on the lookout for new guests to join us for an episode. If you'd like to be considered in future, we'd love to hear from you. Please send an email to
[email protected]. Thank you and I hope you can join us again soon. Goodbye.
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