NORTH KINGSTOWN – Regent Craft Inc.’s seaglider technology has taken a “key step” closer to passenger transportation trials, the company announced on April 14, with a full-scale mock-up of the craft now complete.
In that same announcement, Regent also announced plans to expand its manufacturing and testing facilities at Quonset Business Park to 600,000 square feet.
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The North Kingstown-based company has already picked up numerous airline and defense company partnerships, including investments from Japan Airlines and Lockheed Martin Corp., the latter of which made an investment of undisclosed value earlier this month.
Regent’s “Viceroy” seaglider is a fully electric, passenger-carrying craft that flies within one wingspan of the water’s surface.
“This mock-up, along with the announcement of our plans to build new state-of-the-art facilities, showcases our growth trajectory and our commitment to begin production as soon as possible,” Regent co-founder and CEO Billy Thalheimer said in a statement.
The company believes the seagliders can serve an $11 billion market, according to its own research, Thalheimer said, and expects this market “to swell to as much as $25 billion as battery technology advances.”
Thalheimer said the company has received $8 billion in orders to date, reflecting “the need for fast, reliable and sustainable maritime transportation.”
When the product is ready for widespread use, Southern Airways/Mokulele Airlines will receive the company’s first commercial sealiders, Regent said.
A prototype craft had its inaugural flight over Narragansett Bay last fall.
Regent expects to carry out human-carrying test flights in 2024, and commercial flights by mid-decade.
Regent was founded in Burlington, Mass., and moved its headquarters to Quonset Business Park in 2022.
R.I. Commerce Corp. approved the company for $13 million in tax credits in return for Regent’s commitment to creating 300 new jobs in Rhode Island over a decadelong period to qualify for the tax credits.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
