๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐๐: ๐ซ๐ฃ๐ข๐ก๐๐ก๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐
My quick take on XPONENTIAL 2025 Europe & US: what felt like early signals in 2024 has clearly shifted. Things are moving faster, and some patterns are hard to ignore.
๐๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ
Last year, defense was gaining relevance. This year, it dominated in the U.S. โ with about a third of the exhibition floor showing military OEM components and scalable, low-cost drone platforms.
Skyfallโs strong presence, already operational in Ukraine, was just one example.
Weโve seen this up close in our collaboration with Fortem Technologies and other defense drone manufacturers and cSUAS companies, supporting the Ukrainian deployments and U.S. DoD. That work continues to push technical requirements toward weatherproof and cross-platform charging systems โ an area where Skychargeโs patented approach has real-world traction.
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ-๐ถ๐ป-๐ฎ-๐๐ผ๐ : ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Post-DJI Dock 2, the DiaB market is clearly consolidating. Only those with a clear differentiator remain โ whether vertically integrated or infrastructure-focused.
Hextronics and Skycharge are good examples of that second group. We compete in some areas, but each of us brings something specific. The fact that weโre still here speaks less to branding, and more to product USP and execution.
A pattern is emerging: drone-specific boxes vs. cross-platform infrastructure. What many teams initially look for as โwireless chargingโ ends up being a broader need for automation, compatibility and reliability. Our system delivers a safe and hands-free experience compatible with any battery powered drone, with consistent high efficiency (92%) and no moving parts โ which turns out to matter more in the field than the term itself.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น
New players are offering integrated systems at 30โ60% less than the big names. Itโs tempting. But delivering something reliable under โฌ100K โ that actually works in all weather, for years โ is another story.
Weโve benchmarked our systems against both DJI Dock and higher-end platforms like Airobotics. The upfront price isnโt the full picture.
What matters in the long run is how often a system needs to be commissioned or replaced. Our designs are tested for 10+ years of operation, versus 2-year replacement cycles on other systems. That difference compounds fast.
๐๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐น๐
Several logistics projects are progressing โ not loudly, but steadily. Some, I hear, will require pad-based charging like Google Wing. Announcements are expected within 12โ24 months.
๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฝ
European players are catching up fast โ helped by a clear political and strategic push toward sovereign, locally developed tech.
At Skycharge, weโve seen this through projects with ENEL and partners in public safety. Thereโs growing focus on building systems that work โ not just in ideal conditions, but in the real world, with local teams and unpredictable deployments.
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
XPONENTIAL 2025 made one thing clear: drone ops are no longer about better aircrafts. Theyโre about fully integrated systems that are scalable by design and hence reliant of a dependable ground (charging) infrastructure.
These arenโt emerging new trends anymore but concrete operational requirements.
