Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Gets Smarter, Lighter, and More Powerful

Powering Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has challenges and solutions. Continuing the series on this vertical on Future of Air Transportation, host Tyler Kern sat down with Marcus Priest, Senior Principal Engineer at TE Connectivity.

As UAM becomes more complex and mainstream, the configuration and needs around power are evolving. That requires new components that drive higher capacity but also stay small and light.

TE Connectivity is answering the call from the industry. “As a supplier to aerospace companies, we have well-suited platforms and are always innovating to deliver products for emerging markets,” Priest said.

The UAM space also requires higher working voltages for more robust electricity. Priest explained that demand impacts components, wiring, cabling and connectors. “Our main focus is on the size, weight, and power, or SWaP. We want to keep things light and small but have more power,” he said.

To meet the needs of this market, TE Connectivity has been able to use previous products and reconfigure them. The new trend for this application is distributed power systems. TE is developing higher voltage, smarter switching capabilities that will work well with the distributed power model, which is similar to the utility grid.

There are also similarities between development for this sector and electric vehicles. Hybrid electric mobility groups and the UAM team work together.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

continuous improvement in education
Continuous Improvement in Education: If You Want Different Outcomes, Change the System
February 24, 2026

School systems across the country are under mounting pressure to improve student outcomes while navigating shifting standards, staffing shortages, and rising expectations around accountability. Yet many reform efforts fall short because they are fragmented and short-term. According to Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning, sustained and job-embedded professional learning is linked to improved educator…

Read More
growing with sales
Get Vertical! Growing with Sales for Success
February 24, 2026

Buying behavior has shifted dramatically. Today’s B2B customers do most of their research before ever speaking with a salesperson. In fact, 61% of B2B buyers say they prefer a rep-free buying experience, according to a 2025 Gartner survey. At the same time, U.S. retail e-commerce sales exceeded $1.192 trillion in 2024. Growth still depends…

Read More
All Blacks
Standards, Identity, and Legacy: Leadership Lessons from the All Blacks and Other Elite Teams with James Kerr
February 23, 2026

Dynasties are rare. Most teams rise, win for a season, and fade. A superstar retires. A coach leaves. The chemistry shifts. What once felt inevitable suddenly looks fragile. Sustained excellence is far harder than a single championship run — it requires standards that survive ego, systems that outlast individuals, and a culture strong enough to…

Read More
governance
Exploring the Intersection of Board Governance, Community Engagement and Creativity with Ann Margolin
February 23, 2026

Behind every city vote, hospital budget or zoning decision is a leader navigating tough, often conflicting priorities. Right now, public leaders are operating in an environment of rising healthcare costs, workforce shortages and heightened community expectations—especially within safety-net systems that collectively provide billions in uncompensated care each year. The stakes are real—they affect patients…

Read More