The Summer Olympics will be held in Paris in a year.

Volocopter, an aviation start-up, will be hoping to make history along with the athletes.

Its two-seater electric aircraft, VoloCity, will be carrying passengers around Paris if all goes well. In Europe, it will be the first service to use electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

Many companies around the world are developing EVTOL aircraft that can land right in the center of cities and are quieter, cheaper, and emission-free.

In order to be ready for the Olympics, Volocopter expects to get approval from the European aerospace regulator, EASA, in the next few months.

“Everything is ready and set to go by the middle of next year,” says Christian Bauer, the company’s CFO.

There will be three routes connecting Paris’s center with the city’s airports and heliport. The company has spent a lot of time organizing flight paths and landing spots (called vertiports) – not easy in a crowded city such as Paris. Volocopter has achieved a great deal in its 12-year history, especially when it comes to developing and certifying new aircraft.

Volocopter and its rivals face greater challenges ahead, according to some. It will be necessary for them to demonstrate their aircraft’s marketability in the coming years.

There is still a problem with batteries. EVTOL aircraft remain heavy and expensive, which limits their range and limits their cost advantages over helicopters, trains, and cars.

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When compared to a helicopter, the VoloCity’s range is not very far, but enough for short city hops.

Bauer acknowledges the challenge: “What hinders us right now is the battery technology that all of our peers are currently working on.”

Using more powerful, cheaper batteries, Volocopter will be able to build a larger aircraft that offers services at lower costs.

It will start out at a premium price, around helicopter segment pricing, and then gradually go down, with a big step, when we have a four- or five-seater model.”