The ePlane Company (Ubifly Technologies Pvt Ltd), a leader in India’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft development, has opened a 60,000-square-foot integrated prototyping and testing facility at the IIT Madras Discovery Campus in Thaiyur. The new centre marks a major step for India’s urban air mobility sector, moving from early-stage concepts to full-scale aircraft development and certification-ready testing.
The facility was inaugurated by Professor V Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, whose leadership has helped shape the 163-acre Discovery Campus into a hub for advanced technology ventures. The centre brings together design, integration, manufacturing and testing teams under one roof, enabling faster development cycles as the company works toward regulatory approval and commercial deployment.
The site is equipped for composite fabrication, electric propulsion assembly, avionics validation and subsystem integration. A dedicated Ground Test Vehicle programme will support validation of key systems before flight trials, including tethered hover testing. The centre will serve as the main engineering base for the company’s passenger, cargo and emergency-response eVTOL aircraft.
The company’s flagship aircraft, the e200X, has been designed for operations in dense urban environments. Its compact 8-metre by 10-metre footprint enables rooftop-to-rooftop movement in cities where space is limited. The facility will play a central role in preparing the aircraft for certification and scaling production.
Company founder and Technical Lead Prof. Satya Chakravarthy said the new facility reflects the company’s ambition to make electric air mobility accessible and practical. He noted that the goal is not only faster travel, but also creating a new layer of transport that can support emergency services, logistics and urban commuting.
The centre also strengthens India’s deep-tech hardware ecosystem by providing infrastructure for complex aerospace integration and validation. By working with regulators on testing protocols, the company aims to help shape India’s standards for electric aviation.
Incubated at IIT Madras, The ePlane Company is developing India’s first compact electric air taxi and has received Design Organisation Approval and Type Certification application acceptance from the DGCA. Its initial commercial rollout will focus on air ambulance services to reduce emergency medical travel times across the country. IIT Madras continues to support startups through its Discovery Campus and Incubation Cell, providing infrastructure, talent and technical validation for next-generation engineering ventures.
