Starting Ampaire
Kevin Noertker and Cory Combs founded Ampaire in 2016 to pursue fundamental R&D on electric aircraft. Given the slow but steady pace of battery storage capability, the two recognized hybrid-electric propulsion to be an essential steppingstone to fully-electric power systems.
Hybrid-electric power also provides a near term solution for reducing aviation emissions with market-driven solutions. The pair have recruited technology leaders across the aerospace and automotive industries to implement this vision.
Kevin Noertker and Cory Combs founded Ampaire in 2016 to pursue fundamental R&D on electric aircraft. Given the slow but steady pace of battery storage capability, the two recognized hybrid-electric propulsion to be an essential steppingstone to fully-electric power systems, and a near term solution for reducing aviation emissions with market-driven solutions. The pair have recruited technology leaders across the aerospace and automotive industries to implement this vision.
Aerospace Innovator & Entrepreneur
Kevin Noertker has contributed engineering expertise to stealth aircraft and satellite development programs and contributed to our understanding of the universe as a research fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. An entrepreneur at heart, Kevin is driven to apply the science and engineering disciplines of large aerospace organizations to pressing environmental problems here on Earth.
Prior to founding Ampaire with Cory Combs, he served as a Senior Systems Engineer at Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems working on satellite programs. Among other accomplishments, he led a team that developed a hardware fix for a key component on the Joint Polar Satellite System, removing a bottleneck for a more than $100 million program.
Electric Aircraft Visionary & Engineer
Cory Combs has a natural talent for envisioning the big picture in simultaneity with small building-block calculations. This talent, combined with his lifelong passion for aviation, allowed him to see future viability in electric aircraft, beginning to experiment long before others in the industry. Before Ampaire, he managed research programs with international partners studying technologies for pollution reduction and energy efficiency.
At Northrop Grumman’s advanced aircraft programs unit, Cory was an R&D engineer on multiple X-planes intended to test novel concepts. In that role he also served as principal investigator, leading a team on a multi-year research project. He has ten invention disclosures from this period: three patents received and one invention that became a funded project in 2015.
Global Aeronautics Thought Leader
Dr. Ying is the Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships for Ampaire. She is also a Director and Board member for the Lindbergh Foundation, and the immediate past President of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) serving on the Executive Committee which leads in shaping the agenda of this multinational professional aerospace organization. Dr. Ying has devoted over 38 years to the aerospace industry.
Her experience includes NASA, Boeing, and most recently the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) as the Chief Integration Officer. Dr. Ying has been the recipient of many honors, including the People’s Republic of China Friendship Award, Asian American Engineer of the Year Award, Boeing Professional Excellence Award from the CTO, and the NASA Group Achievement Award.
Susan Ying
Susan Ying
SVP of Global Partnerships
The Original Electric Vehicle Pioneer
Peter Savagian is a pioneer in electrification. He understands the technical, operational and financial challenges and opportunities that EVs present to large OEMs, startup companies, the supply chain, and related industries. In 1990 he began work on the General Motors EV1, the first modern electric vehicle and was named Chief Engineer of electric propulsion systems in 1998.
Later, as General Director of Electrified Propulsion, he built & directed major organizations to define, innovate & execute the full range of electrified vehicle propulsion systems. His accomplishments at GM include 13 electrified autos brought to production, including the first modern Electric Vehicle, the 1996 GM EV1, the first plug-in hybrid, the 2011 Chevy Volt, and the industry’s first long-range value EV, the 2017 Chevy Bolt.
Kevin Noertker
Kevin Noertker
Co-founder & CEO
Cory Combs
Cory Combs
Co-founder & Executive Tech Fellow
Pete Savagian
Pete Savagian
SVP of Engineering
Ed Lovelace
Ed Lovelace
CTO
The Consummate Engineer
Dr. Ed Lovelace has pioneered innovative electric power technologies for air, ground, and sea transportation. Ed holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from MIT and has held CTO and other leading engineering positions at three electrification startups including XL Fleet and Boeing’s Aurora Flight Sciences, a leader in autonomous eVTOL aircraft.
As Chief Technology Officer at XL Fleet, Ed led the development of hybrid-electric upgrade options for a range of commercial vehicles from major OEMs including Ford and General Motors. XL created cost-saving, emission-reducing trucks and buses for major fleet users—Coca-Cola and FedEx among them.