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

podcast
The DisruptED Journey with Tim Maitland at MarketScale (Episode Three)
January 15, 2026

Storytelling is changing fast, shaped by new platforms, shifting audiences, and a growing demand for authenticity. What started as traditional podcasting has evolved into community-driven ecosystems built on real voices and lived experience. In this landscape, storytelling isn’t just content—it’s a way to build connection, spark engagement, and drive meaningful change. When done well,…

Read More
education
The DisruptED Journey with Tim Maitland at MarketScale (Episode Two)
January 15, 2026

Education is at a crossroads. As AI, online learning, and workforce demands rapidly reshape how people gain skills, long-standing gaps in access and outcomes remain a major concern in Michigan. Recent reporting on the 2025 State of Education and Talent shows Michigan has fallen to its lowest ever ranking in per capita income, underscoring…

Read More
Ron Stefanski
The DisruptED Journey with Tim Maitland at MarketScale (Episode One)
January 15, 2026

Education doesn’t change in neat, predictable cycles—it shifts when people start asking better questions. Over the past several years, those questions have become louder and more urgent, driven by workforce disruption, new technologies, and a growing demand for learning that actually prepares people for real life. At the same time, media itself has evolved, favoring…

Read More
supporting parents
Supporting Parents Is a Business Strategy: A CFO’s Perspective on Retention, Trust, and Long-Term Growth
January 14, 2026

Workplace flexibility has shifted from a culture debate to a retention lever—especially as more professionals are becoming parents later, right when they’re stepping into mid-management and executive-track roles. Childcare and caregiving logistics don’t just strain families; they strain talent pipelines, and the companies that treat parenting as a “personal issue” are often the same…

Read More